6:19pm: Robert Murray of FanSided reports the full trade terms. Boston is acquiring Oviedo and minor leaguers Tyler Samaniego and Adonys Guzman. Pittsburgh gets García and pitching prospect Jesus Travieso.
6:17pm: The Red Sox and Pirates are in agreement on a five-player trade that’ll send starter Johan Oviedo to Boston and outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to Pittsburgh, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Oviedo and García are the centerpieces of the deal on either side. The 27-year-old Oviedo is a 6’6″ right-hander who has been a capable back-end starter since the Pirates acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline. He’d been a swingman with the Cardinals for his first couple seasons but has stepped into a full-time rotation role for the Bucs. Oviedo took the ball 32 times and ranked second on the team with 177 2/3 innings in 2023. He posted a 4.31 earned run average with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk rates.
While Oviedo stayed healthy throughout the ’23 season, he reported elbow soreness at year’s end. That proved a precursor to Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2024 campaign. Oviedo had a shot to return for the start of ’25 but suffered a lat strain while building up early in Spring Training. He was shut down for a few months and didn’t make his season debut until the beginning of August. He took the ball nine times down the stretch, turning in a 3.57 ERA over 40 1/3 innings.
Oviedo’s return was a mixed bag. He recorded a career-best 24.7% strikeout rate while getting whiffs at a solid 11.7% rate. The stuff looked as sharp as it’d been before his successive arm injuries. Oviedo averaged 95.5 MPH on his fastball and got good results on both an upper-80s slider and mid-70s curveball. The slider has been a plus pitch throughout his career and had a little more glove-side movement this year than it did in 2023. His height also allows him to get more than seven feet of extension, so his already above-average velocity should play up even further.
While there are clearly things to like, Oviedo remains a work in progress. He walked three batters in seven of his nine starts, issuing free passes at an untenable 13.5% rate overall. That inefficiency kept him from working deep into games. Oviedo only once pitched into the sixth inning and didn’t complete six full frames in any appearance. It’s fair to expect some rust in his command after an 18-month absence, but throwing strikes has always been an issue. Oviedo routinely posted double-digit walk rates in the minors and issued free passes at a 10.6% rate over a full season in 2023.
The other question is whether he’ll be able to handle left-handed hitters over a full season. His changeup is a clear fourth pitch. Lefties managed a solid .244/.341/.436 line with 14 home runs in 419 plate appearances a couple years ago. Oviedo had much better results against left-handed hitters in 2025 (.151/.259/.301), but that came in a small sample with an unimpressive 19:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
More to come.
Oviedo can’t be the headliner of a trade including Garcia, can he?
Proven middle of the rotation MLB starter for a back of the top 100 prospect. Yes. Yes he could.
“Proven middle of the rotation MLB starter” is a massive stretch. Mostly unproven number 5 or 6 starter would be more like it.
JonCor… exactly. The Sox already have 6-7 guys that fit this mold. Including one they just traded (Fitts).
I understand Garcia probably didn’t have much of an opportunity in Boston’s OF, but I was hoping he’d be a nice side piece in a bigger trade.
The massive stretch is calling Oviedo an unproven #5-#6. He has 67 starts over parts of 7 seasons in the majors with a better than league average ERA and FIP. Average = #3. Try again, next time with some logic involved.
So they needed to replace one then?
“Proven middle of the rotation MLB starter?” Oviedo has pitched more than 63 MLB innings just once in parts of five seasons. I like this trade for the Red Sox, but let’s not get carried away with Oviedo just yet!
177 2/3 innings in 2023.
Nevermind… apparently he can be
I dont understand the Garcia love, seems to me his likely role is weak side platoon CF/4th OF, not gonna get anything too exciting for that. Keep seeing Red Sox having him as the headliner for Joe Ryan/Freddy Peralta, that was never an option.
It’s a good time to be a seller
How do you pronounce the prospects name?
Is that password or the other one
Joe-Sting-Zun is not bad
Space Jhost.
I am going with Josty-Nixon. Sounds almost presidential.
The password has been changed.
I hate when that happens.
This is my favorite nickname since Scrabble.
I guess that he has a new Password Manager…
I’m both sad and happy that someone got here with this zinger before me.
@paleo – Thanks for the facial recognition…
Red Sox just added a solid middle of the rotation starter and a #2-#3 type in Gray. The rotation is set. Now they need a bat. Bregman or Murakami?
Still hearing Alonso rumors.
That would fill 1B. A RH power bat like Alonso hitting in Fenway would be something to see. Also allow them to trade Casas and then put Mayer at 3B.
In your head perhaps.
Red Sox got fleeced. Oviedo has issues with throwing strikes and staying healthy
Yeah, guess time will tell.
Exactly what I felt the pirates should do. Trade Ovideo for a young controllable outfielder who bats right and can play center when Cruz shouldn’t be in against lefties
I’m not sure that guy can play CF.
Would like to see Grissom come back as well
Sox need to trade Grissom
Is this really the addition? Or is this just another deal in the works and guys are shifting aroung?
Over pay by Sox but also understand the password likely had no realist shot on major league club given the glut of OF with Sox
Wow. I can’t believe the Sox traded Garcia for such a mediocre SP. I was hoping they’d include him in a package for a true top of the rotation type.
Thats what I thought as well.
What true top of the rotation type do you think he was bringing back?
The asking prices for those premier guys is through the roof. You don’t want to give up everything to add a starter when you’ll be ready in two years with your in-house young starting pitching.
Garcia is a back of the top 100 prospect with good power and a good arm but bad contact and bad overall defense. He isn’t going to be the headliner in a deal for a TOR starter.
Oviedo is 27 and had a 3.57 ERA in 9 starts in 2025 and better than league average ERA and FIP in 2022-2023 before the TJ surgery that cost him all of 2024 and most of 2025. He is a solid get for a prospect that is not as good as any of the 5 OF the Red Sox currently have in the majors.
Does this mean Duran will be traded for a bat? Most likely Ketel Marte if anybody?
I think it means they trade Duran plus Bello for a Frontline sp.
The only trade for those two that I would support is Tarik Skubal or Hunter Greene. Or Paul Skenes of course, but thats unrealistic right now.
This would never get you the best left handed pitcher in skubal. I understand the 1 yr of control however the Sox would have to come off way more!
Yeah, this feels like a Bello replacement sadly
Of all the SPs they could’ve gotten from PIT…?
Seems like this make it more likely that Duran will stay.
Sonny Gray and this guy. No Skubal or Skenes. I’m not worried about Boston next year. They need to do better? Are they getting Alonso, Schwarber and bringing back Bregman. Then I’ll be more concerned.
The Sox are saving their money for offensive upgrades. Their rotation is set now with Crochet, Bello, Gray, Oviedo and Sandoval/Crawford, not to mention all of their young, high end pitching prospects (Early, Tolle, Sandlin, Perales, Uberstein, Drohan) and their top 3 picks in last year’s draft. While it would have been better to see a deal made for Ryan, Gore, Peralta, etc..that would have cost them much more in prospects and money too. With John Henry crying poor, the more they spent on a true #2, the less they could spend on their offense. I’d like to see them re-sign Bregman and somehow get Ketel Marte from Arizona. If they do that, then this will be a great offseason by Breslow.
Guess Freddy was to expensive for y’all 😂
While this does make Boston’s rotation better, I was hoping they were going to aim higher like a Cole Ragan trade with KC centered around Jaren Duran, Garcia and a pitcher. Oh well, at least they continue to improve their rotation.
There’s still time and a couple pieces we can sell off. They may swing Duran to the Royals
I don’t think this indicates they are finished dont forget we were pitching unproven rookies in the playoffs actual depth is needed unless we are assuming early and tolle will just be great and Sandoval isn’t a train wreck
Dorothy – i don’t think they could package two OFs in a trade up for a better SP.
But, Duran and Oviedo could certainly fetch a Ragans.
Also, Samaniego is a legit, LHP bullpen option for Boston in late 2026 or early 2027 (if there is a 2027). All in all, this could be a pretty good trade for Boston. Who knows how the Password will play in the majors.
The password is: meh.
“What’s the smallest line you can read?”
“I can read the bottom one.”
“OK go ahead”
“J, H, O, S, T, Y, N, X, O, N”
Red Sox just need 5 of their 75 starters to pan out.
Love this deal for Pittsburgh. You’d assume this means Keller stays put also.
Get Okamoto and another bat and they’re competitive easily with their pitching.
They will be ridiculed to no end by everyone if they don’t make a concerted effort to win this year. Even experts thing it’s quite hard to screw up having Skenes and Griffin, along with other good young pitchers here and on the way.
This is a great start. They give up a starter who was blocking Barco from starting and gain a prospect who can start in AAA or MLB this year at a position they have ZERO depth in AND it didn’t cost money.
More to come hopefully.
They get a #4-#5 OF and you love it for the Pirates?
On the Pirates he is viable to be their starting LF or RF. Cruz in CF, Reynolds in LF/RF and who takes the other?
The Password comes in and can play RF or LF. Much better option than Suwinski or bringing back a 40 year old Cutch.
RS front office is getting too cute on this one. Really a lame return for a #5-6 starter, Password could’ve been a great trade chip to throw at SP/FB.—no, I don’t care that the Sox outfield’s jammed with team-friendly, controllable contracts.
Multi-player trade is the joke. This is OF prospect for middling and injured SP.
With a bucket full of AAAA prospects, this has got to be a way to turn an OF into a SP, which tells me they must be moving two or 3 of Bello, Harrison, Crawford, Houck,Early, Tolle, Hicks, etc in another deal for an SP.
Hopefully Casas, Campbell, and/or Yoshida too…they could all use need a new uniform.
I’m also hoping for 3 of Marte, Breggy, Alonso, Ryan, Ragans, Aranado…
Breslow overpays again! Breslow has to go
Not the Pirates starter I was hoping for (Jones or Kellar) if they were going to trade with Pittsburgh, but I think it’ll be ok
Oviedo has better stuff than Keller. Breslow made the correct call.
Hmm… I guess I should pay more attention to the Pirates since I’m pretty close to them. Jones is recovering from an internal brace procedure.
Honestly, I’d almost still rather have him than two years of Oviedo, since there’s two more years. Keller would be way more expensive for only one more year.
Maybe Royals wanted Oviendo
Garcia is a center fielder, a postition that is blocked. In return, the Red Sox get a starting pitcher.
I give Boston a B, and Pittsburgh an B+ for this trade.
I don’t think Garcia can play CF.
This seems like a steal for the Pirates, but they have a lot more work to do in order to get the offense playoff caliber. A potential long term outfielder is fantastic for a guy who’s probably your 4/5 starter anyway you cut it. I want Abreu badly, unless they make that move, may not happen.
Will have to keep Keller or get another vet arm if you move him now. Also another few million saved. The big move has to come.
Seems like the Red Sox are accepting that The Password is another bust and are taking what they can get before everyone else realizes it
This will go down as one of the most spell checked trade in history of MLB
Didn’t see this one coming.