Late last night the Atlanta Braves traded minor league outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy & minor league right-handed pitcher Jake Higginbotham to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez & cash considerations.
First, it’s not an MLB offseason until Alex Anthopoulos trades for a premier relief pitcher. So no matter how bonkers you thought the Winter Meetings were, they didn’t mean anything until Atlanta gained a reliever via trade.
Who is Joe Jiménez?
Jiménez is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico; born in 1995 (he’ll be 28 years old by Opening Day). He went to high school at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. He represented his country in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
He wasn’t drafted (commonplace among international free agents), he was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 2013.
He made his MLB debut for those Tigers in 2017. Since his debut he’s compiled a 19-19 record, 5.24 ERA, 333 strikeouts, & 20 saves. His career numbers don’t exactly pop off the page at you in a positive way, but he had an EXCELLENT 2022 season for an otherwise abysmal Tigers team.
His 2022:
56 innings pitched.
109 ERA+
2.00 Field Independent Pitching
1.094 WHIP
7.8 hits per nine innings.
0.6 homeruns per nine innings.
2.1 walks per nine innings.
12.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
5.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Translation: he’s a top 10 reliever in baseball.
He’s also in his final season of arbitration before becoming a free agent in 2024. I wouldn’t be surprised if Anthopoulos buys out his final year of arbitration and adds a year or two extension with a team option worked in there.
Where He Fits
With baseball moving farther & farther away from starters loading up innings in the name of postseason freshness, the bullpen as a whole has become as premier a position as shortstop, center field, & catcher.