Johan Oviedo Making Case to Be Part of Pirates ’26 Rotation
PITTSBURGH – Coming back from Tommy John surgery is never a sure thing. Considering Johan Oviedo also had to deal with a setback in the form of a lat injury during spring training, how he would look once he did return was up in the air.
Oviedo’s first start back with the Pittsburgh Pirates was a rocky one. The 27-year-old lasted just one inning, and he allowed two runs against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 4 – his first time back on the PNC Park mound since the end of the 2023 season.
The Pirates optioned Oviedo back to Triple-A Indianapolis following the outing, but he’s looked much better since returning from the minor leagues.
His solid showing continued on Friday night in the Pirates’ 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, when he allowed one unearned run in five innings.
“I thought he handled himself really well,” manager Don Kelly said following the loss. “That first inning got a little long and his first start back, those thoughts can start to creep in when things start. I thought he did a great job slowing things down and finding a way to get out of that first inning and really settled into a nice rhythm to get through five.”
Oviedo allowed just one hit but battled some command issues and walked three batters. He struck out four and threw 45 of his 78 pitches for strikes.
“Personally, we got good results but I fell behind some guys. I had three walks today. Especially with the leadoff hitter, I got to be better than that,” Oviedo said after his start. “You know how important the first out is, so that’s something to work on in the next bullpen.”
Through his first five starts with the Pirates this season, Oviedo is now 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He’s been charged with six earned runs in 20 innings and has held opponents to just 11 hits. He’s also struck out 24 batters and has walked 11.
In four starts since he returned from Indianapolis, he has a 1.89 ERA (4er/19ip) and has gone at least five innings in three of those starts.
“I’m just trying to learn from it every day,” Oviedo said of his recent success. “Take the positive and the negative and work for the next one.”
With 20 games to go on the Pirates’ schedule, Oviedo could make four more starts before the end of the season.
The biggest goal for the native of Cuba is to finish the year without any setbacks.
“Just trying to do the same thing that I’m trying to do right now,” he said. “My main goal is to be healthy and give the team a chance to win every time.”
Oviedo is one of a handful of pitchers getting an extended look to end the season. Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller have been the anchors in the rotation the entire season. A wave of rookies including Mike Burrows, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler – as well as Carmen Mlodzinski – are among the options the Pirates have to fill out their 2026 rotation. Jared Jones is on track to return from the injured list next season too.
But Oviedo is proving he belongs in the mix with everybody else, and he’ll have a few more chances to continue his audition before the offseason.
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