In 2024, the Atlanta Braves faced a wave of injuries that continued into the offseason, with Joe Jiménez undergoing knee surgery on October 29.
Jiménez, who is 29 years old, had an impressive season with a 2.62 ERA and struck out nearly 30% of batters over 68 innings. He was equally effective against both left-handed and right-handed hitters, making him a key player for late-game situations.
Impact on Braves’ Bullpen:
Now that Jiménez is out for possibly all of 2025, Atlanta’s bullpen lineup has to adjust. Raisel Iglesias will close games while Aaron Bummer and Pierce Johnson step in as setup pitchers. Middle relief duties fall to Daysbel Hernández, Dylan Lee, and Angel Perdomo. Grant Holmes and Huascar Ynoa are expected to handle long relief roles.
The Braves have several young starters like Dylan Dodd and Bryce Elder who might join the bullpen next season. There’s also time in the offseason for Atlanta to add more relievers because you can never have too many quality arms!
Fans might be worried about how these injuries will affect the team’s performance next year.
Injuries were a big problem for the Braves last year too. They lost Spencer Strider (elbow) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (knee) early on, while others like Michael Harris II (hamstring), Austin Riley (hand), and Ozzie Albies (toe) missed significant time as well.
Even with all these setbacks, Atlanta managed to make it to the playoffs as a wild-card team but got swept by the San Diego Padres in two games. They haven’t won a playoff series since their World Series victory in 2021.
What do you think? Can they bounce back next season?
