BOSTON – The Red Sox aren’t rebuilding. They’re reloading, and they just dropped a haymaker on the rest of the American League.
In a stunning five-player blockbuster announced Thursday, Boston has acquired electric but enigmatic right-hander Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for prized outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia (“The Password”), minor league righty Jesús Travieso, and cash considerations. Heading back to Pittsburgh with Garcia are minor league lefty Tyler Samaniego and catcher Adonys Guzmán.
Just days after stealing Sonny Gray from St. Louis, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has done it again, landing the 6-foot-6, 27-year-old flamethrower who was one of the most whispered-about names on this winter’s trade market.
Make no mistake: this is a high-upside bet on pure, filthy stuff.
When healthy, Oviedo is downright nasty. A mid-90s fastball that kisses 98, elite arm extension (98th percentile), and a 2023 slider that ranked among the most valuable pitches in baseball by run value. Stuff-wise, he belongs in the top tier of starting pitchers in the game.
The catch? Health and command. A devastating Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 season, and a lat injury delayed his 2025 debut until August. In nine late-season starts after returning, he posted a sharp 3.57 ERA with 42 punchouts in 40⅓ innings, though the 23 walks and only one start reaching the sixth inning reminded everyone why his ceiling remains theoretical, for now.
But in Boston, Oviedo won’t be asked to carry the rotation. He slides into a suddenly loaded group alongside Garrett Crochet (2025 AL Cy Young runner-up), Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Patrick Sandoval. That’s six legitimate big-league starters, high-upside arms fighting for five spots, with depth that makes injuries far less catastrophic.
For Pittsburgh, the return is headlined by Garcia, the toolsy Venezuelan outfielder who rocketed to Boston’s No. 3 prospect (per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel) after slashing .267/.358/.452 with 21 homers across Double-A and Triple-A in 2025. The 22-year-old, who made a brief, splashy MLB debut in August, now gets a golden opportunity to win an everyday job on a Pirates team that finished dead last in runs scored this past season. Flanked by Oneil Cruz in center and Bryan Reynolds in right, Garcia could be the spark Pittsburgh’s offense has desperately needed.
Yet it’s hard to escape the feeling that Boston won this trade, at least on paper. They moved from a position of outfield surplus (Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Roman Anthony) to address their most glaring need: starting pitching depth with upside. And they did it without touching Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, or Kristian Campbell, their untouchable trio.
Breslow, in his second offseason running the show, is swinging like a man who knows Fenway’s window is wide open.
Johan Oviedo in a Red Sox uniform, throwing 97 with that wipeout slider in front of the Green Monster?
The rest of the AL East just felt the ground shake.
