Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo continues to navigate what’s turned into an extra lengthy recovery after undergoing Tommy John surgery in mid-February 2024.

Oviedo, 27, began this past spring training as a candidate to earn a starting rotation spot, but a lat strain paused his return.

However, Oviedo is about three weeks into a rehab assignment that’ll potentially be the final obstacle before he becomes available to the Pirates. His last big-league appearance came Sept. 27, 2023.

After outings with the rookie Florida Complex League Pirates and Low-A Bradenton Marauders, Oviedo’s rehab assignment was moved up to Double-A Altoona, where he most recently threw 3 1/3 innings Friday.

“Right now my body feels amazing,” said Oviedo, who was at PNC Park on Monday, with the Curve having an off-day. “For me, it’s more about feel and confidence right now — the more reps, the more execution and the more throws that I make. The more I’m around the actual games with real routines, every five days or every six days to have a normal routine, show up to the field.

“Those have been the keys for me. The more I do that, the better I feel every time. I can see from my outings, the first one compared to the last one is way different, so I’m really happy and proud of it.”

Manager Don Kelly said Oviedo was brought to Pittsburgh to get a bit of throwing in and receive instruction from pitching coach Oscar Marin and assistant pitching coach Brent Strom.

“It was a good opportunity for him to come throw a side (session), be around the guys, get some touch points with Oscar, (Strom) and the pitching group and throw a side here, Altoona not being on today,” Kelly said.

“It’s good to have him around and to see the success that he’s (having). His outing — 53 pitches, 3 1/3 last time — did really well and is feeling good.”

Regarding the road ahead, Oviedo is focusing on adding length to his rehab starts.

On July 11 with the Marauders, he tossed 2 1/3 innings before going a bit deeper recently with the Curve.

Oviedo is also unsure exactly what role he will fill — starter or reliever — when the Pirates recall him.

“Right now, it’s been more about get ready to start,” Oviedo said. “The whole conversation’s been about hitting five innings. That’s what I know, and that’s what I’m trying to focus on right now, just trying to hit those five innings and let the team decide what I have to be or where I can help.”

Kelly echoed those sentiments, emphasizing Oviedo first must return to full health before any determinations are made.

“I can’t say when he gets back up here it’s 100% going to be a starter,” Kelly said. “We want to get him to get to that point and be healthy and be ready to rejoin the group. I know at the beginning before he pulled the lat, we were maybe looking at having him in the bullpen as a bulk guy and transitioning, but I think long -term, definitely see him as a starter.”

Oviedo indicated his lat strain in March, which set back his Tommy John recovery several months, was due in part to being too intensive with trying to reclaim his pre-injury velocity.

In 2023, when he went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA over 32 starts and 177 2/3 innings for the Pirates, Oviedo’s fastball was thrown regularly in the 95-97 mph range.

While he’s confident his velocity is completely back, Oviedo is being more selective on his rehab assignment when he utilizes it fully.

“After the lat happened, I’ve been trying to be more careful with controlling my velo,” Oviedo said. “Trying to use it when I need it, men on base or in tough situations, definitely go to what I got. But trying to balance, just because there’s a build-up process, both with innings and pitches.”

More work and progression on his rehab assignment will be required before Oviedo can take the mound in another MLB contest.

As he prepares to rejoin the Curve, Oviedo is committed to gaining something from what’s been a highly challenging chapter of his professional and personal life.

“I’m a strong believer that everything in life happens for a reason,” he said. “Being patient has never been a strong side of me, so this whole time has been a test that maybe I’ve needed to go through so I can grow a little bit more as a person. The patience is definitely what I’ve had to use the most this whole time.

“I’m really glad with the results I’ve gotten out of it. I definitely feel more calm in a lot of situations, so I feel like during the game, it’ll help out more than it has in the past. Definitely looking forward to seeing what will come out of it.”

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