It's certainly going to be a while until Boston Red Sox fans see Johan Oviedo back on the mound for the organization.
Oviedo has made just one appearance for the club this season after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates this past offseason in the deal centered around former Boston prospect, Jhostynxon Garcia. Relief pitcher Tyler Samaniego came over in the deal and while he didn't make the club out of camp, he has actually made more appearances in a Red Sox uniform than Oviedo with three.
Oviedo was placed on the Injured List in early April by the club with a flexor strain. On April 8, The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that he would be shut down for six weeks . On the bright side, the expectation right now isn't that his season is over . But he won't be back on the mound any time soon. On Tuesday, MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo reported that Oviedo is being moved to the 60-Day Injured List to clear a 40-man roster spot for Jack Anderson, who was promoted on Tuesday.
Mar 2, 2026; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Johan Oviedo (29) looks on in the dugout during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
"Sources: Red Sox are placing Johan Oviedo on the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot for Jack Anderson, which fits the timeline outlined by Oviedo's shutdown," Cotillo wrote. "Oviedo was shut down from throwing for a six-week period last week. This means he can't be active before May 30. The math lines up."
With Oviedo's official move to the 60-Day Injured List, that at least confirms that there is zero chance of him being able to return before that initial timeline of six weeks is up. If he is fully shut down for six weeks, that would be 42 days. Then, he would have a few weeks to start to build back up before the 60-day countdown is up. At the end of the day, you never want to see any injury. You never want to see a guy have to end up on the 60-Day Injured List. Fortunately, it was already known that he was going to have a long absence. It's not like the news came out of completely nowhere.
It's an unfortunate part of the game. The Red Sox are going to need Oviedo at some point. Look at last year as an example of why. By the time the playoffs came around, the Red Sox's starting rotation was limping. Garrett Crochet was awesome, but Brayan Bello had a short outing in the second playoff game and then the club turned to Connelly Early, who had just four big league starts under his belt at that time because there were so many injuries impacting the team.
Again, fortunately, right now the expectation is that he will pitch again in 2026. But it's going to be a bit.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi as Red Sox Place Flamethrower on 60-Day Injured List .
