Johan

Oviedo

The procedural move opened up a spot earlier this week on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster to finalize a contract with soft-tossing lefty Josh Fleming. Oviedo will miss the entire upcoming 2024 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in December.

Barring any setbacks during his lengthy recovery process, Oviedo should be ready to return for the 2025 campaign. It’s a significant loss for the Pirates’ starting rotation, but they still have plenty of time to address their pitching needs ahead of spring training.

It’s a significant loss for the Pirates’ starting rotation mix heading into next season as Oviedo will likely be sidelined until the outset of the 2025 campaign. There were rumblings earlier this month that he was dealing with right elbow pain, and might ultimately require surgery, so the latest development doesn’t come completely out of nowhere. The 25-year-old righty, who would’ve entered next spring as a borderline top-100 starting pitcher in fantasy drafts, was a reliable workhorse this past season for the Pirates, posting a solid 4.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 158/83 K/BB ratio across 177 2/3 innings over a career-high 32 starts.

That’d be a definite blow to the Pirates. Oviedo was inconsistent last season, but he wound up making 32 starts with a 103 ERA+ and did so for the minimum salary. Starting pitching was already a huge need for the Pirates this winter, and having to replace one of the two sure things in their rotation would make fielding a competitive pitching staff even more expensive.

Oviedo had the benefit of facing the Phillies’ “B” lineup after they clinched Tuesday, yet he did nothing with it. Fortunately, the offense picked him up, so he avoided taking a 15th loss, which would have tied for the NL lead. Oviedo’s 4.31 ERA will wind up right around the league average, and he should enter spring training with a rotation spot to lose in Pittsburgh.

Given what the rest of his outings have looked like, it’s pretty amazing that Oviedo has allowed one or no runs in 15 of his 31 starts this year. The end result has been a 4.12 ERA, which is perfectly fine and should pretty much ensure that Oviedo is a part of the Pirates’ 2024 rotation. His 152/81 K/BB ratio in 172 2/3 innings is less encouraging.

It’s the fifth time this season that Oviedo has walked at least five batters. Still, he’s been rather effective in three of those five starts. For the season, he’s walked 76 and struck out 147 in 166 2/3 innings. His walk total is tied for third highest in the majors, and his HBP total of 11 is tied for fourth highest. He’s been something close to a league-average starter in spite of the control issues, but it’s really difficult to get excited about him.

The 25-year-old right-hander punched out four batters on the night while issuing one base on balls. He allowed an RBI single to Matt Olson in the third inning and then back-to-back run-scoring singles to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies before exiting in the fourth inning. He has been highly inconsistent this season — registering a 4.34 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 140/71 K/BB ratio across 161 2/3 innings in his 29 starts. He’ll hope for better results when he squares off against the Nationals on Thursday.

Oviedo was coming off a shutout of the Royals, but he was all over the place in this one, throwing more balls than strikes. This is part of the package with Oviedo. He’s had 13 starts this year in which he’s allowed one or no runs and nine in which he’s allowed at least five runs, leaving just six in which he’s given up two, three or four runs. All told, he’s 8-14 with a 4.27 ERA.

Oviedo authored a masterful performance on Monday night in Kansas City, striking out five batters and allowing just four baserunners, needing just 112 pitches (73 pitches) to go the distance for his first career complete game. The 25-year-old right-hander excelled at limiting hard contact in this one, allowing just four batted balls with an exit velocity in excess of 95 mph. He’ll face the division-rival Cardinals on Sunday in a road matchup.