New Joe Jimenez surgery casts shadow on long-term $26 million Braves contract

Hunter Cookston

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New Joe Jimenez surgery casts shadow on long-term $26 million Braves contract image

The Atlanta Braves are looking to bolster their bullpen this season after struggling at times just a year ago. On Wednesday night, the Braves secured their closer for the 2026 season, reuniting with Raisel Iglesias. The best part is that Atlanta got the deal done over the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Veteran closer Raisel Iglesias, who really bounced back down the stretch this season, is back with the Braves on a one-year, $16M deal, the team announced,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez posted.

However, the Braves received some bad news regarding their relievers on Wednesday. Joe Jiménez suffered an injury update that no Braves fan wants to hear.

“Braves reliever Joe Jiménez, who missed all of 2025 after knee surgery, had a recent 'cleanup' procedure on the same knee. Alex Anthopoulos said they won't know more about his timetable until late December/January. (No, that's not ideal.),” The Athletic’s David O’Brien posted.

With this new information, the Braves will likely need to add another reliever this offseason. Jiménez didn’t pitch at all last season after being shut down in the later stages.

“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,” MLB Trade Rumors’ Mark Polishuk wrote.

Jiménez pitching only one season for the Braves would be detrimental, but knee injuries can be tricky to navigate. He has the talent, but his health isn’t there right now.

In a season when the Braves hoped to get one of their reinforcements back, it could be a long while before Jiménez returns. This is another “wait and see” situation for Atlanta.

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