Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo has been experiencing issues and pain with his rigtht elbow. Mackey reports that although no official decision has been made, Tommy John surgery has been considered.

If Oviedo were to have Tommy John surgery, it would keep him out for at least the entire 2024 season, and would be a series blow to the entire Pirates organization.

Starting pitching is arguably the single biggest issue for the Pirates heading into the offseason, and now it could be an even larger issue for the club. Pittsburgh had two main starters in the final few months of the 2023 season: Oviedo and ace Mitch Keller.

Despite the serious lack of starters, the Pirates managed to stay afloat by cobbling together bullpen games and converting relievers to temporary starters. However, that is not a sustainable method for winning baseball games, and Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has stated that the team is looking to add starting pitching in the offseason.

Now, with Oviedo potentially gone, the Pirates would be down to a single major league caliber starting pitcher.

The righty Oviedo went 9-14 last season for Pittsburgh with a 4.31 ERA. His start to 2023 was rather rough, and Oviedo suffered inconsistency issues all season. However, he did rebound as the season went along, and closed out the year with several strong performances.

Oviedo pitched a full game shutout in late August last season, becoming the first Pirate in over a decade to pitch a complete game shutout that late into the season. It was the high point in a string of multiple performances late in the season where Oviedo completely shut down his opponents, allowing 1 run or fewer.

Oviedo struck out 158 batters over 177.2 innings pitched during the season, and walked 85. He tied Keller for the team lead in games started, with 32.

If Oviedo is out for the year, it obviously adds to the need to sign free agent pitchers, but it also opens the door for more of the Pirates’ other pitchers in their system to take a big step up.

Guys like Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester, and Luis Ortiz, who all struggled at the major league level for the Pirates, might have a better chance at another major league chance.

Contreras in particular, who was counted on to be a big factor in the rotation in 2023, struggled immensely for the Pirates, and was banished to Triple-A Indianapolis in early July.

It also might speed up the trajectory of Paul Skenes, who the Pirates selected first overall in this summer’s MLB Draft. Skenes is projected to join the major league lineup at some point during the 2024 season, but if Pittsburgh is short-staffed in the rotation, it’s possible he arrives in town sooner rather than later.

(Featured image by Gene J. Puskar/AP)