The Atlanta Braves struck gold ahead of the 2023 season when they acquired reliever Joe Jimenez from the Tigers. Jimenez had one of the best seasons of his career, as he posted a 3.49 ERA over 56.2 innings with 13 walks and 77 strikeouts.
Those are absolutely dominant numbers from a reliever, and Atlanta needed a good righty arm in the backend of the bullpen. Jimenez pitched extremely well for the Braves with a 3.04 ERA, 14 walks, and 73 strikeouts over 56.1 innings.
The front office rewarded this performance with a three-year, $26 million extension. Jimenez continued to impress, as his ERA after the 2024 season was 2.62 over a career-high of 68.2 innings. He also matched his career-high in strikeouts with 82 of them.
Unfortunately, that's the last Braves fans have seen of the right-hander. He had knee surgery after the 2024 season to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. This caused him to miss the entire 2025 season.
Once very promising, Joe Jimenez's contract with Braves is now aging like spoiled milk
Jimenez then underwent a "cleanup" surgery in November 2025, which left his timetable for return up in the air. There's still no guarantee that the right-hander will be ready to pitch at the start of the 2026 season.
AA stated they aren't counting on him until he starts throwing and shows he can remain healthy. This starts to make his contract look like a mistake, despite two incredible years with the team. Bullpen depth is critical in a tight division race, and the Braves need him.
Jimenez is in the final year of his three-year contract extension, and if he only pitched one of those two years, it was a massive bust. Luckily for Atlanta, they've done a great job adding quality arms to the bullpen.
If Jimenez is able to return at some point, he would make Atlanta's bullpen more formidable. It could arguably give the Braves the best bullpen in baseball. Hopefully, he's able to remain healthy and return soon. Jimenez is a great human being and teammate. However, fans would love to see him back on the field contributing at some point.