Pitching at all in 2026 felt like an uphill battle for Joe Jimenez. Returning to the Atlanta Braves hit another obstacle when Jimenez had to undergo another knee procedure earlier this year. Yet, despite all that was thrown in his way, Jimenez kept rehabbing and has reached an honorable place as of mid September.
Adding talent with the upside of Jimenez to a bullpen for the stretch run is tantalizing, but it appears the Braves are remaining cautious. The latest update only confirmed as much as Braves insider Mark Bowman reported about the possibility of Jimenez pitching in some Instructional League games before the end of the season.
Manager Walt Weiss said it would be good for Jimenez to pitch at some level and get some momentum heading into the offseason, meaning Atlanta's view on Jimenez is very much 2027 focused. However, Jimenez is set to hit free agency this offseason, so there is no guarantee he will be back in Atlanta next year. In fact, if Atlanta handles this anything like they did with AJ Minter, it's likely Jimenez will pitch elsewhere next season.
Walt Weiss said it would be good for Joe Jimenez to pitch at some level before the year ends just to allow him to enter the offseason feeling good about next year. This might mean pitching in Instructional League games
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 11, 2026
Braves could handle Joe Jimenez's impending free agency exactly how they did with A.J. Minter
Much like Minter, Jimenez was a dominant high-leverage arm for Atlanta before a long-term injury added mystery to his impending free agency. Minter's market took a hit a couple of years ago, eventually settling for a modest deal with the Mets.
The Braves loved Minter, but his 2024 hip injury gave the Braves a ton of hesitancy to bring him back. To his credit, Minter has bounced back in 2026, but that doesn't mean Atlanta wasn't justified in their durability concerns. Fast forward to today, everything we have heard surrounding Jimenez feels awfully similar to how Atlanta viewed Minter's injury questions.
Any mention of the possibility of Jimenez pitching in 2026 has been met with a noncommittal response by Weiss, and it seems like Atlanta does not have much faith in Jimenez's knee holding up long-term. Of course, this doesn't mean Jimenez won't return next season, but barring a minor league/spring training invite type deal, it's hard to see Atlanta making a real push for Jimenez this offseason.
It's unfortunate, because Jimenez was truly excellent in 2024, posting a 2.62 ERA and 2.34 FIP. Alex Anthopoulos is typically aggressive with his bullpen spending, but this season's Robert Suarez fiasco could steer his reliever pursuit in other directions. Regardless, it's good that Jimenez has worked his way back to health. Hopefully, Jimenez sees the fruits of his labor and eventually makes it back to a Major League mound; it just doesn't seem like it will happen in Atlanta.
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