Pirates Reportedly Would Entertain a Johan Oviedo Trade
p/c: Gene J. Puskar
It’s not a secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates will look to significantly improve the offense this offseason. One possibility, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, would be the Pirates entertaining the idea of trading right-hander Johan Oviedo for the right position player package. Rosenthal notes that Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily eager to trade Oviedo.
The Pirates acquired Oviedo from the St. Louis Cardinals as part of the Jose Quintana deal at the 2022 trade deadline.
During Oviedo’s first full season with the Bucs in 2023, he posted a 4.31 ERA in 32 starts.
Unfortunately, Oviedo suffered an elbow injury that offseason, which led to Tommy John surgery. As expected, he missed the entire 2024 season.
Oviedo dealt with another setback in spring training, as he sustained a lat muscle.
On August 4th, Oviedo made his return to the big leagues. He put up an ERA of 3.57 in nine starts for the Pirates. The velocity on Oviedo’s four-seam and two-seam fastballs were strong; registering 95.5 and 95.2 respectively. Opposing batters hit just .182 against Oviedo.
Ever since last offseason, there’s been plenty of trade rumors surrounding Mitch Keller. The general consensus appears to be that Keller is a sure bet to be traded this offseason.
Oviedo, who has two years of control remaining, is projected to earn $2 million this winter. Given that Oviedo is now fully healthy, and comes with a cheap cost, the Pirates could look to get a nice haul for him as a possible Plan B option, if they are somehow unable to move Keller.