Johan Oviedo

Johan Oviedo

• Bats Right,. Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 245 lb.

• Debut August 19, 2020

• Born March 2, 1998 in Havana, Havana Cuba

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Johan Oviedo was originally signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in July of 2016. While born in Cuba, he was signed out of the Dominican Republic after defecting from the island at age 15 and first settling in Ecuador before making his way to the D.R. He had been a multi-sports athlete as a youth in Cuba, playing volleyball and competing in kickboxing in addition to playing baseball. He is the great-nephew of Celso Oviedo.

He reached the majors with the Cardinals during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, after leading the Cardinals' minor league system in both wins (12) and strikeouts (163) between Class A and AA in 2019. He went 0-3, 5.57 in 5 games as a starting pitcher and was on the postseason roster, but did not appear in any of St. Louis' three games against the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. 2021 wasn't much better, as in 14 games - 13 starts - he went 0-5, 4.91. In 2022, he was moved to the bullpen and finally earned his first big league win, going 2-1, 3.20 in 14 games for the Cards. On August 2nd, at the trading deadline, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with minor league corner infielder Malcom Nuñez in return for veteran starter José Quintana and reliever Chris Stratton. He moved back to a starting role with the Bucs, going 2-2, 3.23 in 7 games.

In 2023, he started the year in the Pirates' starting rotation and went 2-2, 4.78 in April, when the Pirates played surprisingly well, then improved his ERA in May, when they sank back to normalcy. On May 24th, he became the second pitcher in the majors to throw an immaculate inning that season (the first had been his teammate Colin Holderman three weeks earlier), doing so in the 4th inning of a start against the Texas Rangers; he was the first Cuban-born pitcher to accomplish the feat. In all, he made 32 starts for the Pirates and finished at 9-14,4.31 while logging 177 2/3 innings and striking out 158 batters. He led the National League with 13 hit batsmen, but also tied for the lead in shutouts, being one of ten pitchers to throw one that season, In his case, it came on August 28th, a two-hitter against the Kansas City Royals for a 5-0 win.

After that strong 2023 season, he experienced a major setback, missing all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made his return to the mound on August 4, 2025, starting against the San Francisco Giants, but pitching just one inning and giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks. He did better after that, picking up his first win in almost two years in his next start on August 20th, a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He ended up making 9 starts and going 2-1, 3.57 in 40 1/3 innings. He allowed just 26 hits during that stretch and struck out 42 batters (he did walk 23). Following the season, on December 4th, he was the centerpiece of a five-player trade that sent him to the Boston Red Sox in return for Jhostynxon Garcia, with two prospects accompanying him to Beantown, and one heading to Pittsburgh to complete the deal.

Notable Achievements

• NL Shutouts Leader (2023)

Further Reading

• Ian Browne: "Red Sox acquire RHP Johan Oviedo from Pirates in 5-player deal", mlb.com, December 4, 2025. [1]
• Mike Petriello: 2The big change the Red Sox saw in Oviedo

Righty's return from injury showcased big fastball improvements", mlb.com, December 5, 2025. [2]

Related Sites

• Johan Oviedo on mlb.com