Joe Jimenez was shut down from throwing last week due to renewed soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. This seemed like a major obstacle to Jimenez’s chances of returning to action before the end of the 2025 season, and Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed today to reporters (including Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Jimenez indeed won’t be back in action this year. It also seems like injured starters Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach have thrown their last pitches of 2025, as Snitker was doubtful either right-hander would be activated from the 60-day injured list before season’s end.
After pitching through knee soreness through much of 2024, Jimenez underwent surgery in late October to address what ended up being rather significant cartilage damage. Jimenez was given a broad recovery timeframe of 8-12 months, so an entirely lost season was always a possibility for the veteran right-hander. Some hopes were raised for a return when Jimenez started throwing bullpen sessions in early July, yet he wasn’t able to advance to the minor league rehab stage before his knee again began bothering him. It doesn’t appear as if the issue is anything beyond mere discomfort, so Jimenez should still be on pace to be fully healthy by the start of Spring Training.
Following six mostly inconsistent seasons with the Tigers, Jimenez hit a new level of performance after Atlanta acquired the reliever in a trade during the 2022-23 offseason. Jimenez posted a 3.04 ERA over 56 1/3 innings with the Braves in 2023, which earned him a three-year, $26MM extension to remain in Atlanta just before he was about to test the free agent market. The first season of that extension saw Jimenez deliver a 2.62 ERA over 68 2/3 frames in 2024, giving him an overall 2.81 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 125 total innings in a Braves uniform.
Jimenez’s knee surgery ended up being a harbinger for an injury-riddled season for the Atlanta pitching staff. Spencer Strider (who began the year on the IL recovering from an internal brace surgery) is the only member of the Braves’ first-choice rotation that is currently healthy, as Lopez, Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale are all on the 60-day injured list. Sale is the only one of that group that might pitch again in 2025, as he is set to make his second minor league rehab start on Sunday as he tries to work his way…
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