Pirates place RHP Jared Jones on 15-day IL, recall OF Joshua Palacios from Indianapolis

Jared Jones will miss another start in the rotation, as the Pittsburgh Pirates placed the right-handed pitcher on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain suffered Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Jones said the lat “got really tight on me” in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the Cardinals, his first start since earning the decision in a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 22. Although Jones called it “nothing to be concerned with,” the timing will cause him to miss at least one start before the All-Star break.

The waiting game is over for Joshua Palacios, as the Pirates finally recalled the outfielder from Triple-A Indianapolis — a day later than expected — in hopes his bat will provide a boost. Palacios joined the Pirates before Thursday’s series finale against the Cardinals after spending the previous day sitting tight while waiting to see if the club would add him to the active roster.

“I’m super excited. These are my guys here. It’s like a family here, and I’m more excited to just hang out with the boys and just go do what we did last year and enjoy things than trying to do something special,” Palacios said. “It feels pretty similar. I think the boys are doing better this year than we were doing last year. We’re in a good spot. We’re not far off from second place right now, trying to get a wild card (playoff berth) and trying to get ourselves back into first place, so I think there’s something cooking here.”

The 28-year-old Palacios batted .239/.279/.413 with nine doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 91 games for the Pirates last season, when he came through in the clutch with big hits. He delivered the winning hit with a two-run double in the ninth inning of a 9-7 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers last July 4.

Joshua Palacios will be rocking uniform No. 77 this year. The new number was his choice when he came to Spring Training this year because he wants to "represent for the underdogs." #LetsGoBucs

— Patrick Kurish (@PKurish) July 4, 2024

Palacios was sidetracked by illness and injuries since spring training and was optioned to Indianapolis to start the season. He was placed on the injured list April 12 and required a rehabilitation assignment with Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro before returning to Triple-A on June 11.

Palacios batted .311/.386/.419 with five doubles, a homer and eight RBIs in 21 games at Indianapolis. He had three multi-hit games against Rochester in the final week of June, including a four-hit performance.

“He’s been swinging the bat well,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

Palacios was expected to be recalled after Tuesday’s game, but the Pirates paused that move when Jack Suwinski went 3 for 3 with a three-run homer. With Jones requiring a stint on the IL, the Pirates had Palacios ready to go.

“I did a lot of great work with the coaches there, and I feel I’m in a good spot. Feel healthy and I feel ready to contribute,” Palacios said. “One of the biggest things is pitch decisions, making sure that I have good plate discipline and locking in every day to my routine. It’s more of getting back into a rhythm of what I was doing after being on the IL, so, just being back to my baseline and making sure that I’m swinging at good pitches.”