The seemingly ever-growing list of injured Boston Red Sox starters hoping to rejoin the big league team ahead of the postseason got a little longer on Thursday night as right-hander Johan Oviedo made his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester as he works his way back from a right-elbow strain. 

Here’s what you need to know about his performance: 

Oviedo got the start for Worcester against the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay’s No. 29-rated prospect, Tre’ Morgan, gave Oviedo a rude welcome back to game action, ripping a first-pitch single to center field. However, the 28-year-old bounced back nicely, getting catcher Caden Bodine to line out to left for the first out of the inning. After getting ahead of Durham’s No. 3 hitter, shortstop Ben Williamson, 0-2, Oviedo got 25-year-old to roll over a slider for an inning-ending double play. 

After a relatively clean first inning, the 28-year-old ran into trouble in the top of the second inning, issuing a five-pitch leadoff walk to Rays’ No. 18-ranked prospect, designated hitter Xavier Isaac. With Isaac on first, Oviedo got the first out of the inning, catching former Rays top prospect third baseman Carson Williams looking at a center-cut 96 mph fastball for his first strikeout of the night. With one out and Isaac still on first, right fielder Jack Suwinski, who spent parts of four seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, made Oviedo pay for the leadoff walk, pulling a well-placed changeup to right field for an RBI double and giving Durham an early 1-0 lead. 

However, Oviedo rebounded nicely and put Suwinski on second, striking out the final two hitters of the inning, center fielder Jared Olivia and second baseman Oliver Dunn, on a combined seven pitches. 

The 28-year-old returned to the mound with Worcester still trailing 1-0 in the top of the third. After falling behind former Red Sox catcher Blake Sabol, 2-1, Oviedo did well to draw the count even before catching the veteran looking at a slider painted well on the outside of the border of the zone for the first out of the inning. 

After catching Sabol looking, Oviedo had reached his pitch count of 30, giving way to Boston’s ninth-rated prospect, right-hander John Holobetz. The 28-year-old’s final line reading one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 2.1 innings. 

After being acquired alongside reliever Tyler Samaniego and catching prospect Adonys Guzman in an offseason deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, Oviedo has become somewhat of a forgotten man in the Red Sox' crowded pitching landscape. He made only one regular-season appearance on March 30 against the Houston Astros, allowing four earned runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of relief. During the outing, Oviedo’s fastball averaged only 93 mph, down 2.5 mph from its 2025 average, leading the team to place him on the injured list on April 3 and schedule a visit with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed his 2023 Tommy John surgery. 

Now, after missing almost the entirety of the 2026 season, Oviedo is hoping to make an impact on the 2026 Red Sox after all. 

Meanwhile, back in Boston, the Red Sox will look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers in Thursday night’s series finale from Globe Life Field. Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.76 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite Tyler Alexander (5-2, 3.38 ERA) for Texas. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.