Boston Red Sox pitcher Johan Oviedo had one appearance in the series against the Houston Astros, and everything seemed off with him.
He gave up six hits, four earned runs, two home runs, and two walks in 3 2/3 innings pitched in relief. Not only that, but his velocity averaged around 93 mph, which was a dip in his average of about 95 mph. It's a considerable dip, even though Oviedo had reported he felt nothing was wrong, per Tyler Milliken from 98.5 The Sportshub.
But now, it's been reported that Oviedo has been placed on the injured list due to right elbow strain, per Chris Cotillo from MassLive. He will be visiting Dr. Meister, who performed his Tommy John Surgery back in 2023, to compare MRIs and figure out what's next for him.
In the meantime, the Red Sox have given the 26-year-old prospect a shot at the Majors. Oviedo's situation, along with placing Garrett Whitlock on paternity leave, forced the Red Sox to call up Zack Kelly and Tyler Uberstine from Triple-A Worcester.
Uberstine, who had gone through so much adversity throughout his baseball career, will finally get a chance to shine.
Tyler Uberstine Has a Chance to Prove Himself to Boston
Born in 1999, Uberstine didn't make his high school team in his junior year. Back then, he was 5'6" with little to no good velocity. He joined his baseball club team at USC as a freshman, but got cut. He was also cut from their varsity team the next year as a sophomore.
After those three failures, Uberstine worked with a former MLB pitcher named Joe Biemel, who pitched for several major league teams until 2021. Biemel helped him increase his velocity. Afterwards, along with gaining seven inches to become 6'1", he played two seasons with Northwestern University, maintaining only a 4.82 ERA.
He worked with the MLB Draft League to help him get sought out by more major league scouts, and it ended with the Red Sox drafting him with the second-to-last pick in the 2021 draft. He pitched two seasons from Rookie Ball to High-A, where he suddenly blew out his elbow in Spring Training in 2023.
In 2025, Uberstine broke out in front of everyone, leading the entire Red Sox system with 137 strikeouts in his 21 starts (25 total appearances). In fact, he pitched 120 2/3 innings, which was a new career high. Throughout that year, he started in Double-A Portland and was promoted to Triple-A Worcester by mid-season.
In his first start with Triple-A to start this season in 2026, Uberstine struck out three while only giving up one earned run in four full innings. Everything seemed to click.
Red Sox pitching acquisition from the Pittsburgh Pirates, right-hander Johan Oviedo, who was supposed to start in the fifth slot in the rotation, lost the spot to Connelly Early. Later, Early was moved to the third spot to give Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello more reps to catch up since they pitched in the World Baseball Classic. Oviedo was moved into the bullpen to be a long reliever for the time being.
For Uberstine, many fans can't wait to see him make his first appearance. That may come as soon as Friday, if Sonny Gray doesn't rebound from his six-hit, three-earned-run appearance back in Game 2 of the Opening Day series.
Let's hope that Uberstine can prove he belongs right away, giving the Red Sox another arm they can (hopefully) count on throughout a long 2026 campaign.