ATLANTA, GA – The start of the Braves’ offseason was rocked by an unsettling jolt of reality. The uneasy silence surrounding veteran reliever Joe Jiménez broke with a vague and concerning medical update: the high-leverage arm who missed all of the 2025 season with a knee injury recently required an additional cleanup procedure on the same knee.
This news, which came with a “half-answered question” from President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos that Jiménez’s timeline won’t be clear until late December or January, has forced the organization to confront a reality it wasn’t prepared to name out loud: their most dependable bullpen piece now feels more like a looming question mark than a late-inning weapon for 2026. The uncertainty surrounding his final year of a $26 million contract hit harder than any fastball he’s thrown this season.
The Flicker of Light: Grant Holmes’ Defiant Progress
Yet, in the same breath, a flicker of light has emerged in the form of Grant Holmes. The right-hander, who was a rare bright spot in the rotation before being sidelined with a partial UCL tear, has become the kind of storyline the fans cling to when the roster feels fragile.
Holmes chose to forego Tommy John surgery, which would have wiped out his entire 2026 season, in favor of a demanding rehabilitation process. The positive reports have been steady, disciplined, and almost defiant:
- Positive Feedback: Anthopoulos stated that Holmes’ recovery is progressing “better than they had expected,” with the pitcher already throwing off a mound down in North Port.
- The Possibility: Every rehab outing whispers possibility, suggesting the pitching staff might not be as thin as the overall injury count suggests. If Holmes is healthy, he provides immense value as either a reliable back-end starter (he posted a 3.99 ERA over 115 innings in 2025) or a long-relief option.
Still, the optimism feels thin, stretched tight between the hope that Holmes’ rehab will hold up and the denial of the severity of Jiménez’s chronic knee issues.
The Little League Classic Collision
The growing internal tension now collides with an external focus: the upcoming Little League Classic.
The weekend showcase, which should be pure joy and “kids-dreaming-big energy,” now finds the Braves wrestling with identity and depth. Should the organization lean into the magic of the moment and present an image of perfect stability, or will the questions about Jiménez’s health and the need for high-leverage acquisitions overshadow the fun?
Atlanta’s week hangs on a simple but unsettling question: is the bullpen crisis surrounding Jiménez just turbulence—a temporary setback before a strong return—or the start of a deeper unraveling that forces the front office to make a costly trade for immediate pitching help? The next move from Anthopoulos, particularly concerning the free-agent reliever market, will provide the answer.
