has been out all season after undergoing left knee surgery last November. The Braves reliever is now nine months removed from a procedure that came with an 8-12 month timeline. Jimnez had been throwing but was shut back down after experiencing sorene s in his knee, manager Brian Snitker said yesterday (relayed by ). It now seems theres a good chance Jimnez wont pitch at all this season. This is a lost year for Atlanta. Theres little incentive to push Jimnez through discomfort. The 30-year-old righty would surely love to get back on the mound so he can go into the offseason with some normalcy, but the Braves arent going to take any chances. Jimnez had the best year of his career in 2024. He threw a personal-high 68 2/3 innings with a 2.62 ERA. He recorded a career-best 27 holds while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced. It was an excellent start to his three-year, $26MM free agent deal. The injury unfortunately robbed him of most (potentially all) of year two. Hes signed for $9MM next season. Atlanta is likely to see depart in free agency. Theyll exercise their $7MM club option to retain , barring a late-season injury. and will also be back. The rest of the relief group is in question. has a 2.25 ERA but has walked almost 20% of opponents. Atlanta acquired from Colorado last week. That suggests theyll at least consider bringing him back on a Ji Man Choi Jersey $5MM team option, but he hasnt managed particularly good numbers since 2022. The Braves will likely need two or three external bullpen pickups on top of a healthy return from Jimnez. While the Braves havent officially ruled Jimnez out for the season, starter is definitely done for the year. Atlanta almost immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list when he went down with an elbow injury before the trade deadline. The Braves later diagnosed the i sue as a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. That has the potential to be a precursor to surgery, but Holmes told reporters (including ) that hell attempt to rehab without going under the knife. If I can avoid the knife as long as po sible, thats the route I want to take, the 29-year-old righty said. I havent had any surgeries yet, thankfully, and Im trying to keep it that way. Holmes added that hell be on a no-throw program for at least six weeks and expre sed his hope that he could resume throwing simulated games in November. He pointed out that undergoing Tommy John or internal brace surgery now would almost certainly cost him the entire 2026 season regardle s. Holmes therefore felt he didnt have much to lose in trying a non-surgical approach and evaluating how his elbow feels in a few months. If it doesnt progre s as hoped, he could undergo surgery early in the offseason and still set a goal of coming back at the start of the 27 campaign. Before the injury, Holmes was a bright spot in Atlantas nightmare season. He turned in a 3.99 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents acro s 22 appearances. Holmes had impre sed last season as a rookie but worked more often in long relief. He showed this season that he can be a capable mid-rotation starter as long as hes healthy. Holmes is one of five Atlanta starters dealing with a long-term injury. They already lost to Tommy John surgery, and itd be a surprise if returns from a broken elbow this year. has been out almost all year after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. , out since mid-June with a ribcage fracture, is the only one of that quintet who seems very likely to make it back this season. Sale is set to throw a live batting practice se sion on Thursday (via the ). Hes not far off a minor league rehab a signment and could return from the 60-day IL before the end of the month. Thatd allow the reigning NL Cy Young winner to make five or six starts to close the season. It wont mean anything in the standings, but itd give the Braves some confidence entering an offseason in which theyll face questions about everyone in the rotation aside from . Atlanta will retain Sale on an $18MM club option for whatll be his age-37 season. Kevin Mcreynolds Jersey