Johan Oviedo
Johan Oviedo
Position: RHP
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 245 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 03/02/1998
Country: Cuba
Signed: International Free Agent, 2016 (Cardinals)
How Acquired: Trade (with Malcom Nunez to Cardinals for Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton)
Bonus: $1,900,000
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: 1
Overview
St. Louis signed Oviedo out of Cuba for a big bonus. At 6’6″ and with velocity that reached the mid-90s, he was thought to have front-of-the-rotation potential. He started running into trouble soon after, though, due to erratic and shaky mechanics that undermined his command. He throws a fastball that averages 96 mph, and he throws his slider about as much as he does the fastball. He occasionally throws a curve and change. In the majors, he’s had a significant reverse platoon split. The Pirates acquired Oviedo and Malcolm Nunez from St. Louis for Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton.
2016-19
Oviedo made halting progress through the Cardinals’ system through his first four years, reaching AA for most of the fourth year. Much of the time he wasn’t effective, mainly due to control problems. He continued to show promising stuff and climbed up through Baseball America’s prospect rankings, making it to 12th in the Cards’ system.
2020-21
In the pandemic year, St. Louis brought Oviedo to their alternate site. They had to call him up when the team had a COVID outbreak, and he mostly struggled over five starts. BA ranked him tenth in the system afterward. He shuttled back and forth between the majors and AAA in 2021, but struggled at both levels and finished the season in AAA. Control problems continued to be an issue.
2022
Oviedo pitched as a starter in AAA until the end of May. Then the Cards called him up and, after starting his first game, he pitched strictly in relief. Oviedo struggled badly with gopher balls in AAA, giving up 14 in just 50 IP. He was much more effective as a reliever in the majors. After a deadline trade sent him to Pittsburgh, though, the Pirates sent Oviedo to Indianapolis to get stretched out as a starter. He made it to Pittsburgh in time to start seven games. He had some very good starts, some passable ones, and one very bad one in which he allowed five walks and four runs in an inning and two-thirds. His control faltered at times, but the only major problem was the one start. He had another in which he threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. In the seven starts altogether he held opponents to a line of 198/306/241. He gave up only one longball with the Pirates.
2023-24
Oviedo pitched in the Pirates’ rotation all year and had remarkable ups and downs. He could be dominant at times. In 15 of his 32 starts, he allowed no runs or one run. Only a couple of other pitchers in MLB did that as often. Those starts included a complete game shutout. In his other 17 starts, he had an ERA of 7.96. Wildness was invariably the deciding factor; Oviedo issued 4.2 BB/9 and also led the NL in hit batsmen, with 13. A big factor was Oviedo getting enough pitches over to allow him to go often with his slider and curve, which despite 96-mph velocity on his fastball, were his most effective pitches by a significant margin.
Unfortunately, after the 2023 season it came out that Oviedo had an elbow injury; when exactly it occurred isn’t known. He had Tommy John surgery in November. It’s possible a sharply increased workload played a role; his innings total went from 117 in 2022 to 171 in 2023. Regardless, Oviedo will miss the 2024 season. If things go well, he’ll be ready for spring training in 2025.
Stats
Transactions
July 3, 2016: Signed as an international free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals.
August 19, 2020: Contract purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals.
August 1, 2022: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Malcom Nunez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton.