When the Atlanta Braves first announced Joe Jiménez would need surgery to repair cartilage damage after the 2024 season, they expected their setup man to be out for a while. At the time, the expected recovery time was eight to 12 months.
But even the conservative estimate wound up being well off the mark. It's been nearly two full years since Joe Jiménez last appeared on an MLB mound, but three surgeries later, it appears that Jiménez might actually be returning soon.
We intially wanted to find other examples of players having overcome what Joe Jiménez has over the last two years to see how they performed, but after some digging, we realized there was no real comparison.
Joe Jiménez's recovery from his unique knee injury could be unprecedented
The most notable part of Jiménez's recovery is that the righty didn't take two full years to heal from the initial surgery. At one point during the 2025 season, it looked possible that he could be returning to the team before the end of the season. However, in August, the Braves announced they were shutting him down from throwing after his knee pain resurfaced.
These complications led to Jiménez undergoing yet another procedure on his knee in November last year. At the time, the Braves did not provide a timeline for recovery on this surgery. In February, he was placed on the injured list again, and in May, he underwent a third procedure done on his knee. By July, it was questionable if Jiménez would ever pitch again.
But on Tuesday, the Braves announced the righty was going on rehab assignment with the Stripers, which means, if things go well, the righty could make his way back to the big league club before the 2026 season is over.
We investigated to see how many other pitchers have overcome such an extreme knee cartilage injury, and our search came back without a hit. While other pitchers have undergone knee cartilage surgery, like Trey Yesavage this season, the condition of their knee was nowhere as severe as Jiménez.
In 2014, Derek Holland had surgery to repair torn cartilage behind his kneecap. During the procedure, surgeons found a microfracture as well, which required surgery. Still, there were no further complications from the surgery, and Holland found himself back on an MLB mound by the end of the season.
In November 2016, Cardinals pitcher Tyler Lyons also required knee surgery for cartilage damage, but his initial recovery timeline of five to six months indicates that the severity of his knee was less than that of Jiménez. Lyons returned to the majors in May of 2017.
In May of 2017, Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright underwent a cartilage restoration procedure that knocked him out for the remainder of the season, but did not require additional operations.
There were no pitchers we could find who received as long of a recovery time or as many procedures as Jiménez had. The fact that he was even able to make a rehab appearance this year was more than what most expected just a few months ago. If Jiménez is actually able to make it all the way back, it might truly be unprecedented.
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