NORTH PORT, Fla. – After the Braves acquired Joe Jiménez from the Tigers in December, Collin McHugh called A.J. Hinch, Detroit’s manager. The two are close friends after McHugh played for Hinch in Houston years ago, and McHugh wanted to know about his new teammate.
“You’re going to love him,” Hinch told him. “He’s going to go out there, he’s gonna (pitch whenever necessary), he’s gonna be great in the clubhouse.”
The Braves traded for Jiménez because they wanted another power right-hander at the back of their bullpen. He’ll likely be their setup man if all goes well, though can use him wherever they feel is best. By all measures, Jiménez is a notable addition.
But if you scan his career numbers, something pops out: He was an All-Star in 2018, but he experienced a couple rough seasons before his excellent 2022 campaign.
“I think the COVID year was really hard for me because a lot of things changed,” Jiménez said in the Braves’ clubhouse recently. “I didn’t prepare myself for the 2021 season the way I was supposed to.”
In 2020, he posted a 7.15 ERA over 22 1/3 innings. He had a much lower strikeout rate that year – which was weird for everyone.
In 2021, he had a 5.96 ERA over 45 1/3 innings. The strikeout rate improved. Still, he didn’t feel satisfied with himself.
That’s when his breakthrough came.
In the offseason after the 2021 season, Jiménez went to Puerto Rico and played winter ball. José Santiago, a former big-league pitcher for eight seasons, was the team’s pitching coach - and helped Jiménez a lot.
It went something like this when Santiago and Jiménez met: “OK, let’s just sit down and figure out what’s going on.”
The two pored over video from the times Jiménez had success in the past. He gained a lesson from that. “Just not trying to do too much in the mechanics – simple stuff and all that,” he said. He applied that during winter ball, and didn’t allow a run over 6 2/3 frames.
“It was unbelievable,” Jiménez said. “When I came to spring training (for the 2022 season), I was 100 percent ready.”
In Puerto Rico, the righty began to gain confidence again. He had lost it, which is understandable. He experienced two poor seasons. In 2021, the All-Star reliever began the season in Triple A.
“When you don’t do good in the big leagues, it’s really hard and it’s really more mental than anything,” he said. “I needed that (confidence) back, and that’s what I had in Puerto Rico, just the confidence to go out there and just do my thing.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
He transferred that into the 2022 season. In addition to the 3.49 ERA over 56 2/3 innings, he struck out 77 batters while walking 13 and hitting none. He ranked in the top five percent of the sport in strikeout rate. He fixed one big issue by limiting the walks – in 2021, opponents hit only .206 against him, but he walked 35 batters and hit eight of them.
Then there’s Dr. Spencer Wood, Detroit’s mental skills coach who helped Jiménez with the other side of the game. “Not thinking a lot,” the reliever said. “I think that was the most important (part).” Wood and Jiménez worked together to help the right-hander reach a better spot mentally.
“He helped me a lot, to just think of the things that matter and not thinking about whatever else happens,” Jiménez said. “That was really important for me and my career.”
Last year, a right lumbar spine strain ended Jiménez’s terrific season. At first, he believed he wouldn’t need surgery. He had experienced back problems since 2017, but fought through them to pitch. Eventually, he felt it was time to undergo surgery.
During the offseason, before the Braves acquired him, he underwent a back procedure. A month and a half later, he began playing catch. He said he feels “close to 100%.” He’s been throwing bullpen sessions and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be ready for opening day.
One day last December, Jiménez was planning his next day because he needed to go to Detroit’s spring training complex in Lakeland, Florida, to play catch. He was talking to one of the players there to see what time they would arrive at the facility.
Then he received a call.
It was from new Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, who told Jiménez that the team had traded him to Atlanta.
Now he’s on a contending team, one that has won the NL East five years in a row. The Braves are stacked and appear to once again be one of baseball’s best teams, and one of their new relievers can’t wait to help them achieve their goals.
“That’s the most important part, and that’s going to be the difference between last year and this year for me, at least personally,” Jiménez said. “Obviously, being on this team, it’s just unbelievable, just because everybody here wants to win. Everybody’s on board to win a World Series. That’s what I want. I want to contribute and help however I can to make that happen.”
