What role does reliever Joe Jiménez play in 2024?

Welcome to Braves Today's Opening Day countdown series! We'll use the number of days until Opening Day to look at the 2024 Braves roster through a different lens. Today: 77, the jersey number of Joe Jiménez. 

The Atlanta Braves acquired reliever Joe Jiménez via trade from the Detroit Tigers in December of 2022, but it was different from some of Atlanta's other trades for relievers: 

They gave up a good prospect to get him. 

A lot of the Braves moves for relievers in recent years have been for either non-rated prospects or cash considerations. Ben Heller was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for "future considerations", while Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand came over from the Colorado Rockies for Alec Barger, Victor Vodnik, and Tanner Gordon. 

No, Jiménez was acquired for 3B/OF Justyn-Henry Malloy, who is seen as a top ten prospect for the Detroit Tigers, as well as minor league reliever Jake Higginbotham, who turns 28 today.

And what's weird about Atlanta's acquisition of Jiménez wasn't that they acquired him - he was coming off of a 2022 season where he struck out 77 batters in 56.2 innings, at the cost of only $1.79M - it was how they used him. 

Despite president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos giving up a real asset in Malloy to acquire Jiménez, Atlanta's coaching staff didn't seem to value him the same way the front office did. 

Jiménez didn't work high leverage innings in 2023

Atlanta used Jiménez in mostly low or medium leverage situations in 2023, despite good high-leverage results in 2022 - two walks to fifteen strikeouts in 48 plate appearances, with ten total hits and only fourteen total bases allowed. 

No, manager Brian Snitker deployed Jiménez most often in earlier innings, with his most frequent work coming in the 7th (22.1 innings pitched) and pitching just as often with a deficit (106 plate appearances) as with a lead (114 plate appearances). 

The few times Jiménez, who put up a 3.04 ERA on the season, got to pitch in the ninth, he was good: one total earned run in eight innings pitched, good for a 1.12 ERA. He struck out nine batters, allowing only one walk and two total extra base hits. 

(And for the record, that one 9th inning run was scored in an 11-3 home victory over the New York Yankees on August 14th. Didn't really change the outcome, did it?)

So will Jiménez get higher leverage work in 2024? 

With the current configuration of the Braves bullpen, it's unlikely. 

For 2024, the back end projects to have Raisel Iglesias following up his role as closer, with LHP AJ Minter and RHP Reynaldo López (if not starting) the primary setup men. Jiménez and Pierce Johnson would be dueling with lefty Tyler Matzek for medium leverage opportunities, with one of the two righties in Jiménez or Johnson the favorite to step into López's setup role if he ends up in the rotation. 

It's a rare display of a difference of opinion between the Atlanta front office and the Braves coaching staff, with AA and company not only giving up an appreciable asset for Jimenez but them him being brought back on a three year, $26M deal this offseason while Snitker and pitching coach Rick Kranitz apparently don't trust Jiménez in save situations.

It'll be interesting to watch and see what happens with his usage in 2024. 

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