Ahead of the 2025 Winter Meetings, Alex Anthopoulos spoke with the media and provided a positive update on Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes. Anthopoulos told reporters, including David O’Brien of the Athletic, that the organization is treating Holmes as a healthy pitcher after his 2025 season was cut-short due to an elbow injury.
Holmes opted to not have surgery for his injury – which would have likely meant he would have missed most, if not all, of the 2026 season – hoping that rest and rehab would resolve the issue.
The news isn’t as good for reliever Joe Jimenéz, who had another procedure on the same knee that he had surgery on prior to the 2025 campaign. Jimenéz was not able to return to the Braves last season. A healthy season in 2026 – and one that would see him return to the form he’s shown with Atlanta – would be a huge boon to the team’s bullpen.
As for Holmes, he became a solid member of the rotation in 2025. He made his big league debut as a long-man and spot-starter in 2024. Holmes made 21 starts last season, striking out 123 in 115 innings. If healthy, he could fill a role on the back-end of the team’s rotation or possibly as a high-leverage reliever in the team’s re-vamped bullpen.