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 back from a ribcage fracture.
Smith-Shawver underwent a Tommy John surgery in June, so his entire 2026 season could be in jeopardy as well as what remained of his 2025 campaign. There isn’t much surprise that Lopez and Schwellenbach have also both been unofficially ruled out, as since the Braves are out of the playoff race, there isn’t much value in having either pitcher go through a full rehab process just to pitch a few meaningless innings in late September.
Lopez made just a single start before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in early April. This came with a shutdown period of 8-12 weeks, and while Lopez has started throwing, he won’t have time to build up his arm for a full starter’s workload. Burns suggests that if Lopez is able to return, it would only be in a relief role, which might only happen if the Braves are considering moving the right-hander back to the bullpen in the wake of his injury situation. Lopez’s return to a full-time starter’s role in 2024 worked brilliantly when he was healthy (1.99 ERA in 135 2/3 IP), but he dealt with forearm and shoulder issues in the latter part of that season, prior to the surgery that has entirely marred his 2025 season.
Schwellenbach helped paper over some of Atlanta’s rotation woes when he produced a 3.09 ERA over 110 2/3 innings this year, but the injury bug bit him too in the form of a small right elbow fracture in early July. He was almost immediately moved to the 60-day IL in the wake of that injury and isn’t eligible to return until the first week of September at the earliest, but it instead looks like the right-hander will get an early jump on his offseason.
In better injury news, Ronald Acuna Jr. could be activated from the 10-day IL as early as tomorrow. Acuna hasn’t played since suffering a calf strain on July 29, but the star outfielder seems to be on the verge of a relatively quick return. Though Acuna has been limited to 55 games due to his calf injury and his recovery from the torn ACL that prematurely ended his 2024 season, the former NL MVP has still looked to be in superstar form, hitting .306/.429/.577 with 14 home runs in 238 plate appearances.