Braves Provide Hopeful Holmes, Lopez Updates, Jiménez Remains Unclear

After a whirlwind of a Wednesday night, the Atlanta Braves added some notable updates on recovering pitchers. There were positive updates regarding Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez. However, the status of Joe Jimenez remains in flux.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos, via 92.9 The Game's Grant McAuley, reiterated that Jimenez was recovering from another procedure on his knee. His status will be up in the air until around the start of Spring Training.

The first mention of a setback came in August, which came during a pregame availability update from Brian Snitker. However, a procedure in response to the setback came last month. Before that, he had been progressing and throwing down in North Port.

Ideally, the Braves would get to have their duo of setup man and closer back together. Raisel Iglesias re-signed Wednesday night to a one-year contract, reopening the door to the continuity we had seen before Jimenez's first knee surgery.

Jiménez pitched to a 2.62 ERA in his most recent season in the majors back in 2024. He picked up three saves, but typically had the eighth inning under lock across 68 1/3 innings pitched. In case anyone was curious, he had 27 holds, which means he kept the opponent at bay in a save situation for the next reliever.

Meanwhile, the updates for Holmes and Lopez, with emphasis on Holmes, are looking promising. Both pitchers are looking good, but Holmes is progressing better than the Braves had expected him to. His velocity is back up and his movement has looked good.

"Right now, as we sit here on Nov. 19, things are going very, very well," Anthopoulos said via 680 The Fan's Barrett Sallee.

Before the injury, Holmes was establishing himself as one of the more reliable arms in the Braves' starting rotation. In 22 games, 21 starts, he clocked in 115 innings pitched and a 3.99 ERA.

During the 2024 season, Lopez had established himself as a key arm in the rotation. He was named to his first and only All-Star appearance. However, injuries, even then, were starting to take a toll. After a single start in 2025, he was sidelined with a shoulder injury that took him out for the remainder of the year.

Following his procedure, there was hope he could make it back to pitch out of the bullpen toward the end of the season, but it wasn't meant to be. He finished 2024 with a 1.99 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts.

It'll be interesting to see how the Braves decide on what to do with their starting pitching options. General manager Alex Anthopoulos said he's considered a six-man rotation in the past, but shrinking the bullpen has been what's made him hesitate.

For what it's worth, Lopez and Holmes have experience pitching out of the bullpen, so there is some flexibility there. If one or neither makes the rotation, they could easily help provide needed depth.

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