Going into spring training, all eyes were on the Boston Red Sox to see who would emerge as the No. 5 starter for manager Alex Cora. Two prospects were going to be in the mix, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, along with Johan Oviedo.
Oviedo was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter in a trade. As spring training was winding down, Oviedo struggled. Cora tabbed Early to be his No. 5 starter, which sent Oviedo to the bullpen.
However, things didn’t start well, and he was placed on the 15-day injured list last week. Oviedo had some tests done and after a few days of waiting for results, Cora announced on Wednesday, before the final game of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers, an update on his right-hander.
Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Gives Johan Oviedo Injury Update
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Oviedo has a flexor strain and will be shut down for six weeks from throwing. Given his injury history and surgery history, that is not as bad an outcome as it could have been.
The 28-year-old was hit hard at the end of spring training. After not pitching in the season-opening series against the Cincinnati Reds, he was roughed up by the Houston Astros. In his one outing on March 30, he allowed six hits and four earned runs in just 3.2 innings. He gave up two home runs and struck out three on 72 pitches in relief. After that start, things didn’t feel right for Oviedo.
“He threw that game (in Houston),” said Cora last week after Oviedo was put on the IL. “The next day, he felt good. Just talking to (trainer) Brandon (Henry), I know the last day in Houston, he came in sore, went through all the testing, got some X-rays that were kind of inconclusive. (He) got the MRI, and it showed what it showed. Talking to Oviedo too, this kind of came out of nowhere. But if you start looking at the trends of velocity … he had that good one in Dunedin (on March 2), hit 98-99 [mph]. Then after that, he started trending down. So maybe that’s the reason.”
Cora and the Red Sox are hoping that rest helps Oviedo over the next month and a half before the next course of action is decided. For now, surgery is avoided.
Red Sox Bullpen Injuries Piling Up
Injuries are piling up for Cora early in the season in the bullpen. That isn’t good, given the struggles they have gone through at times this season. Before the game against the Brewers, Boston announced that Justin Slaten was going on the 15-day IL with an oblique strain. Tyler Samaniego was recalled from Triple-A.
Boston is 3-8, sitting in last place in the American League East two weeks into the season. After hosting Milwaukee, they hit the road for series against the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins. The bullpen has been a question mark and will continue to be with Oviedo and now Slaten on the IL. Depth will best be tested over the next couple of weeks.
Boston Red Sox Get Tough Injury News Before Series Final Against Brewers