ATLANTA -- Joe Jiménez might not have time to factor into the Braves’ postseason plans. But after throwing live batting practice at Truist Park on Friday, the veteran reliever was at least given further reason to believe he’ll eventually be physically capable to resume his Major League career.
“He’s come a long way,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He hasn’t pitched in a Major League game in two years. At times, I think he lost hope of ever doing it again. I think that’s behind him. I think there’s hope again.”
Jiménez pitched in both ends of a doubleheader against the Mets during the final day of the 2024 regular season. A few weeks later, he underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He’s since had two more procedures on the same knee, with the most recent occurring in March.
“I'm grateful to be in here, just to be in this clubhouse still, have a uniform and say that I'm still here,” Jiménez said. “At one point, I thought that it was done.”
Jiménez’s unanticipated progress over the past few months brought him to Friday, when he got a taste of what it felt like to pitch in a big league setting again.
As the right-hander jogged from the bullpen to the mound to begin the live batting practice session, the stadium speakers blared Lil Wayne’s “Let It All Work Out,” a song that he regularly listened to during his long rehab.
Jiménez simulated facing five hitters, with Dominic Smith and Brewer Hicklen serving as the batters. Weiss was among the many to hug the hurler when he finished his emotionally encouraging session.
Weiss said he’s not sure what the next step for Jiménez might be. With the Minor League season nearing an end, the reliever might end up pitching in an instructional league game.
“I think it'll be great for him going into an offseason, getting to the point where he's pitched in the game, wherever that might be,” Weiss said. “It'll be great for his psyche going into an offseason.”