Johan Oviedo (born March 2, 1998) is a Cuban professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 2, 2016, Oviedo signed with the

as an international free agent and was assigned to the

DSL Cardinals The Dominican Summer League Cardinals or DSL Cardinals are a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals based in the Dominican Republic. The team plays in the Boca Chica South division of the Dominican Summer League. History The team fir ...

. He split 2017 with the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

and the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The team was fo ...

. In 2018, he was promoted to the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

, where he would spend the season. He then spent the 2019 season with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

and

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

. Oviedo was assigned to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

to begin the 2020 season, but due to the

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Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

did not have a season and was added to the newly formed 60-man player pool. Oviedo was selected to the active roster on August 19, 2020 and made his MLB debut that day. Over five starts with St. Louis, he went 0–3 with a 5.47 ERA, striking out 16 over innings. After making 19 starts and 24 total appearances without earning a win, Oviedo earned his first career win on June 22, 2022, against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, pitching scoreless innings out of the bullpen and striking out three.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 1, 2022, Oviedo and

Malcom Núñez Below are the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates: Players Jase Bowen Jase Callaway Bowen (born September 2, 2000) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Bowen attend ...

were traded to the

in exchange for

José Quintana José Guillermo Quintana (born January 24, 1989) is a Colombian-American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles ...

and Chris Stratton. In seven starts for Pittsburgh, he logged a 2-2 record and 3.23 ERA with 28 strikeouts across innings pitched. On May 24, 2023, Oviedo pitched an

immaculate inning The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a ...

against the Texas Rangers, retiring

Jonah Heim Jonah Nathan Heim (born June 27, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. Born in Buffalo, New York, Heim attended Amherst C ...

Robbie Grossman Robert Edward Grossman (born September 16, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tig ...

, and

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlant ...

in order in the 4th inning. On August 28, he pitched his first

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

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in a 5-0 win vs. Kansas City. In 32 starts for Pittsburgh, Oviedo posted a 9-14 record with a 4.31 ERA and 158 strikeouts across innings pitched; he also led all NL pitchers with 11 pitcher pitch timer violations. During the offseason, Oviedo had suffered a right elbow injury that required him to get

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

, causing him to miss the 2024 season. Oviedo began the 2025 season on the injured list due to a lat injury. He made his first mound appearance since 2023 on July 2, 2025, in a rehabilitation start for the rookie-level

Florida Complex League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its hom ...

Personal life

In 2016, Oviedo began living with his aunt and uncle in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. In July 2018, Oviedo obtained a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

. Oviedo was born to parents Lazaro and Yudith, and was raised with a younger sister, Jeanine.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oviedo, Johan 1998 births Living people Altoona Curve players Baseball players from Havana Bradenton Marauders players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cardinals players Florida Complex League Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Johnson City Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Memphis Redbirds players Palm Beach Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Pittsburgh Pirates players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players State College Spikes players 21st-century Cuban sportsmen