Key Pirates pitcher stumbles in first big step towards returning to MLB rotation

The Pittsburgh Pirates got their first look at a pretty important rehab progression this week, asJohan Oviedo made his first rehab start in the Florida Complex League on Monday afternoon. The expectations coming in were that Oviedo would likely be rusty. Though a stumble was expected, that unfortunately turned out to be the case.

The right-hander is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, which has kept him away from the mound since 2023.

Entering the year, the Pirates' hope was that Oviedo was going to be healthy and contribute to the team as a long reliever, but he encountered a lat issue in the spring, halting his progression. This completely shut him down from throwing for weeks, leading to his first outing against live batters having to wait until the last day of June.

In his first outing in the FCL, Oviedo struggled with the six batters he faced. He allowed three hits, hit a batter, and surrendered two earned runs, while picking up a strikeout.

It was safe to assume that Oviedo was on a strict pitch count limit in outing number one, regardless of how the first inning had gone. Looking ahead, he should be aiming to get to the second inning in his next outing if all goes well.

Johan Oveido makes big step towards returning to Pirates with first rehab outing, but he experienced stumbles.

Given the logjam of pitching in the upper levels of the organization, Oviedo will have to compete for a spot in the rotation, though one will more than likely open up at the end of July when the Pirates deal Andrew Heaney away. The same goes for Mitch Keller, who is less likely to be dealt, but still involved in the rumor mill. Others pitchers in the mix following those possible trades are Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Carmen Mlodzinski.

Ashcraft and Mlodzinski have found their grooves in bullpen roles, but the Pirates intend on keeping them built up as starting pitchers. It appears that Oviedo will get built back up in a starter's role as well, and that may be the best thing for the organization.

Ashcraft is looking like a future high-leverage reliever, and Mlodzinski was not good at all as a starter. If Oviedo comes back healthy and looks like his 2023 self, he could end any notion of Ashcraft/Mlodzinski in the rotation and take the job for himself. That would be the best scenario for this organization moving forward.

Despite the rough first start, getting his first real game action is big for Oviedo. Hopefully he can avoid any other setbacks and find a groove in his recovery so he can help out Pittsburgh quickly.