Jiménez pitched in a game this week for the first time since October of 2024, and a Braves bullpen preparing for the playoffs could use the good news.
The Atlanta Braves were off on Thursday ahead of the biggest series left on their schedule, but the most encouraging development of their week happened a level below the majors.
Right-hander Joe Jiménez, who has not thrown a pitch for Atlanta in nearly two full years, is finally back on a mound in game action, and a bullpen getting ready for October just got a reason to dream about one more late addition.
A Long Road Back
The Braves announced through their official channels on Tuesday that Jiménez was beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, and he worked a scoreless inning that night with one walk and no strikeouts on 19 pitches.
The line was not overpowering, but nobody expected it to be.
His last game appearance before this week came on October 2, 2024, in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against San Diego.
He missed all of 2025, then spent the entire 2026 season on the 60-day injured list while recovering from left knee surgery, so one quiet inning in Gwinnett is almost two years of work finally showing up in a box score.
Why He Was Missed
The last time Jiménez was healthy, he was one of the better setup men in the league.
The 31-year-old posted a 2.62 ERA over 68.2 innings across 69 appearances for Atlanta in 2024, a year in which he was trusted with big outs deep into a playoff race.
He built that resume over eight big league seasons, six with Detroit and two with the Braves, and he made the American League All-Star team in 2018.
Atlanta has gotten contributions from unexpected places all season, but a proven late-inning arm walking back through the door in the final weeks would be a boost no September pickup can match.
What It Means for October
Atlanta placed right-hander Reynaldo López on the injured list this week with right shoulder inflammation, an injury Atlanta News First reports will likely end his season, so the pitching staff is thinner than it was a month ago.
The rotation and bullpen have already leaned on their depth more than once this year, and every trustworthy arm added in late September is one fewer question in a playoff series.
Atlanta News First reports a return in time for the postseason appears unlikely, and one rehab inning proves nothing on its own, so nobody should pencil him into a playoff bullpen yet.
The Braves sit at 89-64 with nine games left and a four-game lead in the NL East, and they open a weekend series in Houston on Friday, with right-hander Grant Holmes, who has delivered big starts before, lined up for Saturday.
If Jiménez keeps stacking clean innings at Gwinnett, the most interesting bullpen decision of the season may still be ahead, because a healthy version of him at any point would work like a deadline addition that cost the club nothing at all.
October bullpens are built on trust more than stuff, and Jiménez earned that trust the last time anyone saw him pitch.
