Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) is coming close to the six-month mark in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, which is when he might get final clearance to resume throwing. The clearance could come next week and would be another step toward getting Oviedo ready to pitch next season. The 26-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in early December of last year and will not be available to pitch for the Pirates at all in 2024. The Cuban right-hander made a career-high 32 starts for the Bucs in 2023 and went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 83 walks and 158 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings pitched. Unsurprisingly, consistency was an issue for Oviedo in his first full season as a starter in the big leagues, and he's going to need to show better command when he returns in 2025 to have any shot at fantasy relevance in single-season leagues.
Pirates Place Johan Oviedo, Endy Rodriguez On 60-Day Injured List
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) and catcher Endy Rodriguez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list on Wednesday. Oviedo will miss all of the 2024 season after having Tommy John surgery in December. The 25-year-old was inconsistent in his first full season as a starter for the Pirates last year, going 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP while striking out a career-high 158 batters and walking 83 in 177 2/3 innings over 32 starts. Oviedo won't be back until 2025, and his high walk rate will continue to make him risky in deeper fantasy league. Rodriguez will also miss all of 2024 after having surgery last December to fix the UCL and flexor tendon in his right elbow. The 23-year-old backstop will have some mild post-hype sleeper appeal when he returns in 2025.
Johan Oviedo Undergoes Tommy John Surgery Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday that right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister. The 25-year-old Cuban hurler will now be forced to sit out all of the 2024 season. Oviedo was a part of Pittsburgh's starting rotation all year for the first time in his MLB career this past season. He made 32 starts and went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP), 1.373 WHIP, 83 walks and 158 strikeouts in 177 2/3 total innings. Oviedo will hope to come back stronger in 2025, but there will most likely be better late-round fantasy targets for starting pitching. The small-market Pirates are certainly on the lookout for rotation help this offseason.
Pittsburgh Pirates Cuban right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery in the coming days, according to sources. Tommy John surgery was on the table for Oviedo once the 2023 season ended, and now it's become a reality that will knock him out for the entire 2024 season. The 25-year-old went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP while walking 83 and striking out a career-high 158 in a career-high 177 2/3 innings over 32 starts in his first full season in Pittsburgh in 2023. Oviedo wasn't really anything special from a fantasy perspective, but he was a useful innings-eater for a beleaguered Pirates starting rotation. In his four major-league seasons, Oviedo has a 4.32 ERA (4.57 FIP), 1.39 WHIP, a 10.8 percent walk rate and 19.6 percent strikeout rate in 320 2/3 innings over 72 appearances (58 starts).
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) has been dealing with right-elbow issues/pain, according to sources. Nothing is definitive yet on how the Pirates will go forward with fixing the problem, but Tommy John surgery has been discussed. Oviedo didn't have any arm issues during the 2023 regular season, in which he went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 38 walks and a career-high 158 strikeouts in a career-high 177 2/3 innings over 32 starts for the Bucs. His previous career-high in innings pitched in the majors was in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals, when he had just 62 1/3 innings. If the 25-year-old needs Tommy John surgery, he'll miss all of the 2024 campaign. Perhaps his big workload jump caught up to him.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo gave up six runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings in Friday's start versus the Cincinnati Reds. He took his NL-leading 12th loss (tied with Kyle Freeland) of the year. Oviedo may have been a somewhat popular streamer against the struggling Reds after letting in two runs across his prior 20 frames, but he floundered in this one. The right-hander couldn't retire any of the first four batters he saw for a three-run first inning. Oviedo settled down momentarily before a wild fourth frame saw him let four straight hitters reach base for a three-run inning once more. The 25-year-old saw his ERA swell back to 4.42 to go with a 1.31 WHIP and 121:56 K:BB covering 136.1 frames this year. Oviedo lines up next for Wednesday's start against the New York Mets, who he holds a 7.31 ERA in 16 innings (four starts) against since 2021.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo is taking the ball for Thursday's game against Marcus Stroman and the Chicago Cubs. Through 13 starts this season, the 25-year-old owns a 4.16 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 19.6% strikeout rate with three wins over 71.1 innings pitched. The dull numbers make him almost irrelevant in standard formats, but fantasy managers in deep and NL-only leagues can hold onto Oviedo. The Cubs offense is in the middle of the pack in terms of OPS (.720), so fantasy owners shouldn't be too scared to start the fourth-year arm.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo picked up a quality start and a win in the 13-3 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night when he allowed just one run on two hits (one homer) while walking three and striking out seven in six innings of work. The 25-year-old hurler is now 3-3 on the year and has given up just one run in each of his last two outings covering 11 innings. He's turning things around and now has four quality starts on the year out of his nine total starts. Overall, Oviedo sports a 4.69 ERA (4.03 FIP), 1.54 WHIP, 23 walks and 43 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. He's still a bit risky in fantasy because of his control issues, but it has been nice to see him settle down of late.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo recorded his second victory of the young 2023 season against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday after going six strong innings. He allowed just one run on three hits, three walks, and six strikeouts as his club blew out the Rockies 14-3. In 2022, Oviedo appeared mainly out of the bullpen but did make eight starts and pitched to a 3.21 ERA. So far, the right-hander has been even better, posting a 2.22 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, and 1.15 WHIP across 24.1 innings. If Oviedo is available, he'll make a solid addition to any fantasy managers' rotation.
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed on Tuesday that right-hander Johan Oviedo will open the 2023 regular season in the team's starting rotation. The 25-year-old earned the opportunity with a strong spring that included a five-inning outing on Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins in which he struck out seven batters. There is an extra spot in the rotation due to the injury of JT Brubaker (forearm), but Oviedo could stick around if he pitches well. The Cuban hurler had a 3.21 ERA (3.74 FIP), 1.29 WHIP and 22.3 percent strikeout rate in 56 innings over 21 outings (eight starts) for the Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in 2022. Oviedo might profile better in a relief role in the long run, but the rebuilding Bucs will give him a chance to start. He's only worth streaming in NL-only leagues and he'll need to display better control to have any kind of consistent success.
