Apr 3, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Jared Triolo (19) in the batting cage before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pirates GM Gives Injury Timeline for Jared Triolo

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Apr 6, 2026 7:00 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates suffered their first injury of the season with infielder Jared Triolo missing some time out.

Triolo suffered a patellar tendon injury, which saw the Pirates put him on the 10-day injured list on April 5 and call up outfielder Billy Cook in his place. He is the first Pirates player that went on the injured list during the 2026 season, as the team has stayed relatively healthy.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Triolo got injured when he rounded third base in the home opener vs. the Baltimore Orioles on April 3, which didn't knock him out, but did for the following game on April 4.

Cherington sees this injury taking weeks and not days to come back from for Triolo, but that they expect him back for most of this year.

“It was in that home opener. He rounded third base scoring a run and felt something in his knee as he rounded third base hitting the bag," Cherington said about Triolo on his radio show. "Obviously finished the game, but was in pain and there was some swelling post-game. We wanted to get a better look at it yesterday, give him a chance to recover, see what happened yesterday. Still was feeling quite a bit yesterday, so we did an MRI.

"He’s got a patellar tendon injury that the good news is that, this is the type of injury that should be rehabbed conservatively. It’s not a surgical case anything like that, but it will take some time. It’s more of a weeks-long thing than a days-long thing. He goes on the IL today, Billy Cook’s back.

"It’s tough losing Tri’, he’s a really important player for our roster, but he’s going to back. Confident he’s going to be back for the lion share of the 2026 season, hopefully, we just have to get him healthy…”

How the Pirates Operate Without Triolo

Triolo did serve as the Pirates starting shortstop, before they called up top prospect Konnor Griffin, and he started at third base.

He slashed .217/.308/.261 for an OPS of .569 in six games, with five hits in 23 at-bats, a double, a RBI and two walks to five strikeouts.

The Pirates now need both Nick Yorke and Nick Gonzales to step up in Triolo's absence at third base.

It's a difficult loss for Pittsburgh, despite Triolo's struggles from the plate, as he is great defensively at third base and won a Gold Glove Award as a utility player in 2024 and was a finalist in 2025.

Yorke and Gonzales don't have much experience at the positon, but Gonzales was the main starter there before Griffin came up, making five starts, while Yorke has two starts there.

Both players will compete for time at third base, with how they play defensively and produce from the plate the two big factors for who will get most of the time at the position moving forward.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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