Johan Oviedo won’t require surgery on his right elbow. That’s the good news, but he won’t be pitching at least until mid-May.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher was back at Fenway Park on Tuesday after he paid a visit to Dr. Keith Meister in Texas to check his elbow. He started feeling soreness last week, and the team was also concerned about a dip in his velocity. He went from pitching 96–98 MPH in a Spring Training start in Dunedin to 92–93 MPH in Houston a few days ago.
“He has a flexor strain,” manager Alex Cora said on Wednesday before the first homestand series finale. “So we are going to shut him down for six weeks. It’s treatment for now. Then he will be back to see his doctor to see where we at and go from there.”
The righty was placed on the 15-day IL on April 4.
“It’s better to rest and heal,” Oviedo told reporters. “From it that actually going to surgery.”
Oviedo had Tommy John surgery in 2024, and he was able to return with the Pittsburgh Pirates in August 2025 before getting traded to the Red Sox earlier this year.
“It’s similar to the lat,” the righty added. “I take six weeks for the lat too. So this is kinda like the same, you know, type of way that we have to go about it. So it seems familiar.”
The Cuban-born pitcher will not throw for the next six weeks.
“Thankfully, it’s really strong right now,” Oviedo said about his elbow ligament. “It’s just the things that are around. All the little muscles, which is what it’s getting damage right now.”
READ MORE:“He is fine”: Cora dismisses concerns as Chapman hasn’t hit 100 MPH yet
«We are pitchers that throw hard for a lot of innings,” Johan Oviedo said on Wednesday. “Sometimes, you are gonna through this. So whatever you can figure it out to manage that and be a little bit more efficient about the work you put in the off-season, during the season. It’s all about adjustments.”
Photo: Marcos Grunfeld
