How Craig Breslow views new Red Sox pitcher Johan Oviedo

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox acquired Oviedo in a trade with the Pirates on Thursday.

By Conor Roche

December 6, 2025 | 12:07 PM

2 minutes to read

The Red Sox swung an interesting trade on Thursday when they acquired right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo from the Pirates for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia as part of a five-player deal.

As Garcia was one of Boston’s top-rated prospects prior to the deal, giving him up for a pitcher without a strong record might have surprised some. But Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow believes that Oviedo is a pitcher on the rise, liking what he saw out of the righty in 2025.

“We see Johan as a guy who was beginning to break out last year toward the end of the season,” Breslow told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Unique fastball release characteristics and added carry in his return from TJ (Tommy John). Has the ability to beat guys with the fastball which is a great place to start when you think about a starter’s repertoire.

“Sure, he hasn’t yet put it all together in the form of a single dominant season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t. We’ve seen enough to recognize that he’s got plenty of raw stuff and at 27, there’s development ahead of him.”

Oviedo, like Breslow mentioned, returned to action in 2025 after missing the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. But he also missed the majority of the 2025 campaign due to a lat injury he suffered in spring training.

When Oviedo eventually made his way onto a big league mound in August 2025, he produced some quality results. He posted a 2-1 record with a 3.57 ERA, 1.215 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings pitched over nine starts.

Oviedo’s fastball also saw some improvement in his shorter stint last season. Opposing hitters logged just a .149 batting average against the pitch in 2025, while Oviedo’s fastball generated a 31.3 percent whiff rate. That whiff rate would’ve ranked 13th among qualified pitchers last season if Oviedo had pitched enough innings.

But Oviedo had some struggles with his fastball in 2023. Opposing hitters put up a .275 batting average against the pitch, while Oviedo’s fastball generated just an 18.5 percent whiff rate. Oviedo’s fastball whiff rate was even worse than that in the three seasons prior to 2023 as well. So, the Red Sox are really betting on Oviedo’s nine-game sample size in 2025 as proof that his fastball has improved.

Ovideo’s fastball had an average velocity of 95.5 mph in 2025, which was right around the mark he had in 2023 (95.8 mph), per Baseball Savant.

Beyond his fastball, Oviedo has produced quality results with his slider over his last couple of seasons. He got opposing hitters to strike out against it 88 times in 281 at-bats in 2023, generating a 32.7 percent whiff rate with his slider that season.

The trade for Oviedo marked the Red Sox’ second notable addition to their starting rotation this offseason, trading for Sonny Gray in a deal with the Cardinals in November. The two deals have given Boston an abundance of starting pitchers, with 13 players who profile as starters on its 40-man roster.

So, one might think that the Red Sox might be done adding to their rotation this offseason. But Breslow isn’t willing to make a commitment either way.

“Our priorities remain improving our 2026 roster,” Breslow told Cotillo when asked if the team is still looking to add another starting pitcher. “We have to be open-minded about the ways we can do that, and practical in the sense that we have some position player needs that we’ll want to focus on.”