Reliever Joe Jiménez gets welcome news from Braves
With the World Series coming to a conclusion on Wednesday night, the baseball world will shift its entire focus to the offseason. The Atlanta Braves wasted little time in getting their efforts started, announcing a contract extension with right-hander reliever Joe Jiménez. The soon-to-be 29-year-old was set to become a free agent.
Jiménez will earn $8M in 2024 and $9M in each of the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Atlanta initially acquired Jiménez in a December 2022 trade with the Detroit Tigers for a pair of minor leaguers. Following six seasons with the Tigers that carried mixed results (a 5.24 ERA and 1.338 WHIP across 266 innings), Jiménez seemed to put things together upon joining the Braves.
Jiménez made 59 appearances this past season, posting a 3.04 ERA and 1.154 WHIP. His 30.7 K%, helped by a 95 mph fastball and a slider he'd consistently locate, put him in the top 10% of the league.
Locking the right-hander up now will allow the Braves to focus their attention on other offseason needs. The club won 104 games this past season, handily winning the NL East, but fell short in the playoffs, losing to the Phillies in the division series.
They will most likely be focused on adding to their pitching staff, with a likely need in the starting rotation (potentially two if Charlie Morton doesn't return). The Braves should also be looking to add at least one more reliever to the bullpen mix.
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