{"id":668314,"date":"2026-04-07T12:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T12:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/668314\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T12:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T12:39:19","slug":"pirates-trade-looks-smarter-than-ever-after-johan-oviedo-injury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/668314\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates trade looks smarter than ever after Johan Oviedo injury news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johan Oviedo is suddenly looking like he’s in danger of missing significant time in 2026, making the Pittsburgh Pirates’ decision to trade Oviedo in December<\/a> look all the wiser.<\/p>\n

Oviedo, now with the Boston Red Sox, was sent to the 15-day IL<\/a> on April 3 with a right elbow strain. But the rumblings on Oviedo’s arm spilling out of Boston’s camp sound even worse than that: Oviedo is set to meet this week with the doctor who performed Tommy John surgery<\/a> on him back in December 2023. <\/p>\n

The reason? Oviedo wasn’t able to bend or flex his throwing arm when he got out of bed on the morning of April 1, less than 48 hours removed from pitching in relief for Boston against the Houston Astros.<\/p>\n

Alex Cora tells the media that Johan Oviedo will meet with Dr. Keith Meister on Monday, who performed his Tommy John surgery, to check out his elbow, per @ChrisCotillo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oviedo woke up on Wednesday and wasn\u2019t
able to bend or flex his arm when he got out of bed. pic.twitter.com\/pVp0U39J9M<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 4, 2026<\/a>Former Pirates pitcher Johan Oviedo might miss significant time in 2026<\/p>\n

Before this troublesome news on Oviedo, there were already plenty of concerns about his drop in velocity<\/a>. The diminished velo caught the eye of Red Sox observers in spring training, and it carried into the start of the regular season. <\/p>\n

This velocity problem made Oviedo somewhat of a meatball artist during the aforementioned Astros outing: Oviedo allowed six hits \u2014 including two homers to Jose Altuve \u2014 and four earned runs to the ‘Stros in 3 2\/3 innings. Following the performance, he told the media that he had “no idea” what was behind the drop in velo. In the days that followed, all of the injury news on Oviedo mentioned above surfaced, and here we are.<\/p>\n

While Red Sox fans are down in the dumps about Oviedo, blaming chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for acquiring him, Pirates fans are breathing a sigh of relief and crediting Ben Cherington. <\/p>\n

Part of the Oviedo return package for Pittsburgh was promising slugger Jhostynxon Garc\u00eda<\/a>, famously nicknamed “The Password” from his time developing in the Red Sox’s system. Garc\u00eda is currently in Triple-A Indianapolis, continuing his development, but his upside is enormous. If Oviedo’s character arc keeps trending towards damaged goods status, the Garc\u00eda return will only look better and better as time wears on.<\/p>\n

Even if Garc\u00eda doesn’t cash in on his potential, the Pirates will still have moved off a diminishing asset in Oviedo. There’s still time in 2026 for Oviedo to turn things around, but he’ll need a clean bill of health first, and that doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.<\/p>\n

The Pirates were 5-3 entering Sunday, riding the wave of newfound success in a new era. Their new roster is performing well on the diamond, their coaching leadership under first-year skipper Don Kelly has been impressive, and by the looks of it, their front office has been stellar over the last couple of transaction cycles.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Pirates are one of MLB’s organizations on the rise, while the Red Sox are trying their best to avoid the opposite characterization to begin the season.<\/p>\n