Projecting Johan Oviedo’s Role with Pirates In 2025
p/c: Mary Altaffer
At the 2022 trade deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates sold high on veteran lefty Jose Quintana. One of the pieces obtained in the deal from the St. Louis Cardinals was pitcher Johan Oviedo.
After being used as a reliever with the Cardinals, Oviedo made the transition to a starter for the Pirates, which was a shrewd move, given Pittsburgh’s lack of rotation depth. In seven starts with the Bucs in ‘22, he put up a 3.23 ERA.
Oviedo found himself as a mainstay, on the Pirates’ pitching staff, as he posted an ERA of 4.31, along with a 104 ERA+, in a career-high 32 starts. His 2.1 bWAR was also a career best.
The Pirates were dealt a blow, to their rotation depth, when Oviedo had to undergo Tommy John surgery in December. This of course caused him to miss the entirety of the 2024 season.
Oviedo is first time arbitration eligible this offseason, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting the Cuban born right-hander to earn $1.5 million - a bargain based on his decent, 2023 numbers.
So the question heading into 2025 becomes what role will the Pirates use for Oviedo?
With Oviedo recovering from the elbow procedure this year, the depth within Pittsburgh’s starting rotation has improved. Obviously, Paul Skenes and Jared Jones impressed as rookies, but other pitchers like Bailey Falter and Luis Ortiz each took a step forward. And then there’s promising, young arms on the horizon, with Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and Mike Burrows.
For all intents and purposes, the Pirates will most likely monitor Oviedo’s workload next year, so depending how much he pitches in spring training, a long relief role out of the bullpen, in 2-3 inning spurts, would seem realistic. Oviedo has one minor league option remaining, which would give the Pirates the opportunity to send him to AAA Indianapolis, if they decide to stretch him out as a starter, in a more controlled environment.