The Boston Red Sox received some bad news on Friday on one of the team’s newest acquisitions, with right-handed hurler Johan Oviedo being placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
“The club placed righty Johan Oviedo on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain and placed setup man Garrett Whitlock on the paternity list,” Cotillo reported Friday. “To take those spots, Boston called up right-handers Zack Kelly and Tyler Uberstine from Triple-A Worcester.
“Oviedo has shown diminished velocity in recent weeks and struggled in his season debut Monday in Houston. Acquired from Pittsburgh in a December deal that sent outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to the Pirates, Oviedo was expected to be a back-end rotation option but started the year as a long reliever after Connelly Early won the final rotation spot. Oviedo will be examined by Dr. Keith Meister, who performed Tommy John surgery on Oviedo several seasons ago.”
Oviedo struggled immensely in his one appearance this season after the Red Sox acquired the 28-year-old in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason, allowing four earned runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings pitched.
Oviedo has a history of elbow injuries, missing the entire 2024 season and a good amount of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. It’s unclear how much time the veteran hurler will miss, with the best-case scenario being that his results come back clean and he can return promptly after 15 days.
Though Boston has a lot of pitching depth, it would be a major blow to lose Oviedo for a significant amount of time.
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