Johan Oviedo was a workhorse for the Pittsburgh Pirates in making 32 starts last season, so the right-hander treated the soreness in his right arm as an afterthought in hopes that it would be resolved by rest.
“I kept telling myself it was probably something minor and after a week, it’s going to go away,” Oviedo said. “But after a week, I was still feeling the same soreness. It wasn’t going away. It was numb, like an inflammation. It feels like when you throw 100 pitches, after a game you’re sore.”
When imaging tests revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament that required Tommy John surgery on Dec. 6, Oviedo didn’t dwell on missing this season so much as he turned his focus to the future.
“It definitely wasn’t the news I was expecting at the end of the season, but we’ve approached it in a way where this is going to be a big help for myself and my career,” Oviedo said. “I feel like it’s a little step back to come back stronger and help the team out even better.”
The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder channeled his frustration into motivation to work in the weight room, doing strength and stability training and working on his flexion so he can transfer his power to the mound. His physique turned heads upon arriving in Bradenton, Fla.
It was at this time last year that Oviedo solidified his spot in the starting rotation when JT Brubaker was lost to an elbow injury that also required Tommy John surgery. Oviedo went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 177 2/3 innings. That’s 60 1/3 innings more than he threw in 2022, when the Pirates acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade-deadline deal involving Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton.
Oviedo has turned to veterans for advice on how to handle his recovery and rehabilitation, including teammates Brubaker and lefty reliever Ryan Borucki. But he also received inspiration from Justin Verlander, who returned from Tommy John surgery at age 39 to win his third Cy Young Award in 2022, while training together at Cressey Sports Performance facility in Jupiter, Fla.
“I know that I definitely feel really bad on the inside that I can’t help the team out and that I’m going to miss this whole season,” Oviedo said. “This is the first experience I have on the IL in my life, so I’ve been trying to be close to a lot of people. I’m getting a lot of support from the team and my teammates. It helps a little bit more to be on the path that I want to be and what the team wants me to be.”
Yet, with spring training winding down, Oviedo knows the hardest part is still to come. He will be watching games from the dugout or on television when the Pirates travel, wishing that he could pitch.
“When the season starts, it’s going to be hard for me to be watching the games on TV,” Oviedo said. “I know it’s going to be hard, so I’m just trying to prepare for those moments because I know it will come. I’m a human being and I have big feelings for this game, so I know it’s going to be a process. Besides my body, I’m trying to get my mind ready for everything that’s going to come with it.”
One of the things that has helped Oviedo is being around reliever Aroldis Chapman, a childhood hero in Cuba. Oviedo recalled his father taking him to see Chapman pitch and hearing the sound his fastball would make when it hit the catcher’s mitt. When the Pirates played the New York Yankees in 2022, Oviedo got Chapman’s jersey.
The 6-4, 235-pound Chapman is renowned for his early morning weightlifting sessions, which served as proof to Oviedo that pitchers can be big and throw hard.
“He’s one of those guys you always look up to,” Oviedo said. “It’s crazy to watch him throw ‘pens and see how humble he is. Sometimes, when you find those guys that are pretty much Hall of Famers, sometimes they act like it. But this guy is different. He’s super humble, man. His work ethic is one of the best I’ve seen in my life. He’s killing those weights and setting a great example for me and everyone in here, even position players. There’s a guy they can look up to.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m really mad about (the injury). I share time with him right now but as a player, hopefully, he can be around for more than one year. It’s a blessing having him here.”
