Braves' Jiménez could miss 2025 after undergoing knee surgery

Atlanta Braves reliever Joe Jiménez could miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing left knee surgery, the team announced Monday, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

The procedure repaired damaged cartilage in Jiménez's left knee, and the Braves are anticipating that he'll need between eight-to-12 months of rehab. Under that timeline, his earliest return, should there be no complications during his recovery, would be next July.

Jiménez, 29, emerged as a critical piece of Atlanta's relief corps this past season as Raisel Iglesias' set-up man. In 69 appearances, he put up a career-best 2.62 ERA and 0.99 WHIP along with 82 strikeouts and a 10.7 K/9 rate, while allowing only two homers over 68 2/3 innings.

His absence creates a sudden hole in the Braves' bullpen behind Iglesias. Barring some offseason additions, Pierce Johnson appears to be the likeliest internal candidate to become manager Brian Snitker's eighth-inning arm. Left-handers Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer could also get work in a set-up role next year.

The Braves acquired Jiménez from the Detroit Tigers before the 2023 season and re-signed him on a three-year, $26-million contract last offseason. An All-Star with Detroit in 2018, the Puerto Rico native owns a 4.47 ERA, 3.67 FIP, and 1.25 WHIP along with a 11.2 K/9 rate and 23 saves across 425 big-league appearances.