The Atlanta Braves got hammered by injuries in 2024 and their rotten injury luck has extended into the offseason. Top setup man Joe Jiménez had surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee on Oct. 29, the team announced Monday. The surgery is expected to sideline him 8-12 months, so he'll miss most or all of the 2025 season.
Jiménez, 29, pitched to a 2.62 ERA with a strong 29.6% strikeout rate in 68 2/3 innings in 2024. He allowed only two home runs in those 68 2/3 innings and walked a manageable 8.3% of batters faced. Jiménez is also platoon neutral -- he's every bit as good against lefties as he is against righties. He's an important late-inning weapon for manager Brian Snitker.
With Jiménez sidelined, Atlanta's bullpen currently looks like this:
- Closer: RHP Raisel Iglesias
- Setup: LHP Aaron Bummer, RHP Pierce Johnson
- Middle: RHP Daysbel Hernández, LHP Dylan Lee, LHP Angel Perdomo
- Long: RHP Grant Holmes, RHP Huascar Ynoa
The Braves also have a small army of young starters (Dylan Dodd, Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, etc.) who could factor into the bullpen next season. And of course there is an entire offseason still to come. Chances are Atlanta will bring in a reliever or two simply for depth purposes. You can never have enough quality relievers.
Injuries sabotaged the Braves in 2024. Most notably, they lost Spencer Strider (elbow) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (knee) to season-ending injuries early in the season. Others like Michael Harris II (hamstring), Austin Riley (hand), and Ozzie Albies (toe) all missed significant time as well. Per Baseball Prospectus, Atlanta lost 13.1 WAR to injuries in 2024, nearly three wins more than any other team.
Despite the injuries, the Braves made the postseason as the second wild-card team, though they were swept in two games by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. Atlanta has not won a postseason series since their 2021 World Series championship.
