Pirates Transactions
Pirates Place Johan Oviedo on Injured List
The Pittsburgh Pirates officially announced that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
In order to make room for Lawrence on the club’s 40-man roster, the Pirates placed right-hander Johan Oviedo on the 60-day injured list. Oviedo, who is still recovering from last offseason’s Tommy John surgery, it also dealing with a right lat strain.
Oviedo missed the entire 2024 season due to his Tommy John surgery but was a key part of the Pirates’ starting rotation in 2023. In his first full season with Pittsburgh, Oviedo went 9-14 with a 4.32 ERA and was tied with Mitch Keller for the team lead with 32 starts.
The Pirates acquired Oviedo from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline in 2022 in a deal that sent pitchers Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton the other way. Quintana, by the way, agreed a one-year deal with the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers on Monday according to multiple reports.
With Oviedo’s absence to start the season, the Pirates’ starting rotation projects to consist of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, Bailey Falter and Andrew Heaney. The Pirates signed Heaney to a one-year contract last month.
Oviedo’s stint on the injured list will officially begin on Opening Day — March 27. Therefore, he won’t be able to return to the mound until late May at the earliest. There is not yet word on how much time he’s expected to miss.
Maybe the silver lining here is that they were going to have to nurse him along this year anyway to watch his innings total, so there’s a month’s worth of innings that won’t accumulate. I say they should take their time and make sure he’s right.
Jose Quintana rejected the Pirates offer and signed a contract with the Brewers for less than what Heaney signed for. Was it Q just didn’t want to come back to the Pirates or did he think he would get more and ended up getting desperate and just took what he could get now?
He called Nutting’s bluff on how cheap he really is & lost