Braves: Doctor provides insight into Joe Jimenez’s injury

One of the biggest developments for the Braves in the early part of the offseason has been the injury to Joe Jimenez, which is fitting considering how the season panned out this year.

The set-up man, who recorded a 2.62 ERA, 0.990 WHIP, and 10.7 K/9, is expected to miss 8-12 months after undergoing offseason knee surgery. At best, he’ll be ready for the second half of the season; at worst, he doesn’t pitch at all. This is typical when discussing major knee surgeries, like torn ACLs, but Jimenez’s diagnosis was a little different; they needed to repair the cartilage in his knee.

Recently, I talked with Benedict Nwachukwu, MD from the Hospital for Special Surgery. He provided more insight into the type of surgery Joe Jimenez underwent.

“There are multiple different ways to treat cartilage injuries athletes have,” Nwachukwu said. “In some cases, surgeons will do a cleanup and cartilage debridement.  This typically results in a faster return to the sport and athletes can sometimes return to the sport within 6 to 8 weeks.”

“Based on the expected timeline for the return to the sport, it is probable that a cartilage restoration or repair procedure is being performed. In these cases, the goal is for a more definitive and long-lasting solution to cartilage issues by restoring viable cartilage to areas where there is a cartilage defect.  In these cases, the initial part of the recovery requires for the cartilage to be incorporated into the patient’s own tissue.  This process itself can take several months.  Once there has been good cartilage incorporation, then physical therapy is required to restore good functional and kinematic strength in order to prevent any future cartilage damage,” he continued.

When asked specifically about the lengthy timeline for such a procedure, Nwachukwu responded, “However, based on the expected timeline to return and the probable procedure to be performed, there is likely exposed bone and high-grade cartilage loss.”

The significant injury to Joe Jimenez adds to the long list of tasks Alex Anthopoulos must accomplish this offseason. With A.J. Minter, Jesse Chavez, and Luke Jackson also testing free agency, adding another high-leverage bullpen arm is a must for a club with World Series aspirations.

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Photographer: John Adams/Icon Sportswire