A 6-man rotation? Johan Oviedo is St. Louis Cardinals’ solution to weary pitching staff
It’s not that Johan Oviedo was missing in action as much as it is that the St. Louis Cardinals weren’t looking to advertise where his action was taking place.
The burly rookie righthander, who opened organizational eyes in last year’s spring training and made a surprising and effective major league debut in the summer, came into camp this year ready to prove he could be a substantial contributor to the 2021 Cardinals.
The problem was that, for a starter, there wasn’t much room at the inn.
Oviedo said Thursday night after his first start of the season that the message from manager Mike Shildt was, “just stay ready, we’re going to need you,” as the manager laid out a plan that would include him in the starter’s group, even with sporadic need.
That Thursday start came in the midst of 17 games scheduled to be played in 17 days, and a stretch in which the Cardinals have transitioned to a six-man starting rotation rather than the traditional five-man model.
4-pitch repertoire honed in spring training
Shildt and pitching coach Mike Maddux have repeatedly preached a desire to “honor the off day,” and with pitchers adding innings after a shortened 2020, finding five full days of rest rather than four is one way to solve that puzzle.
“We knew this was going to be a part of it,” Shildt said of the move to integrate Oviedo. “He had a good spring training. It was away from the public eye as we, you know, not absolutely by design, but worked out that way with the spring training schedule and lining up other pitchers.”
Whatever the design, Oviedo appeared in only one official Grapefruit League game this spring.
Other outings happened in informal settings and could be seen by curious eyes only from several hundreds of yards away through multiple fences at the club’s Jupiter complex, or on occasion from a perch overlooking the Washington Nationals’ practice fields in West Palm Beach as he competed in so-called “B games.”
It was there that he honed a four-pitch repertoire, integrating a changeup he’s now throwing twice as often as he did in 2020 and a curveball that’s gone from approximately 10% of his pitches to now more than 15%.
His own tools have also helped to sharpen those of his teammates.
Adam Wainwright mum on 6-man experiment
Before Oviedo allowed a two-run, fifth inning home run to ex-Cardinal Brad Miller on Wednesday night which tied the game, Cardinals starters had gone nine games without allowing more than two earned runs.
Oviedo was optioned to the minor leagues following his appearance, meaning he won’t be able to return until the last weekend of the current long stretch of action.
The roster decision intended to maintain the depth of the bullpen means the schedule won’t be perfect, but is still designed to allow him to make an impact.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been a part of a six-man rotation,” Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright said when asked about the arrangement’s potential benefits. “I’m sure that there’s great things for your arm.
“I’m excited to see Oviedo pitch, I can tell you that. I think he’s super talented and needs an opportunity up here. He seems ready.”
Wainwright was placed on the COVID-19 IL on Thursday night due to contact tracing but could be back to pitch as soon as Monday, merely flipping days with Carlos Martínez.
He would likely always prefer to pitch on fewer days’ rest rather than more, but largely otherwise held his tongue about the arrangement, saying he preferred instead to be a good teammate and professing bemusedly that he wasn’t sure how to answer the question.
The incumbent members of the starting rotation don’t have much choice but to buy into the arrangement. Wainwright’s 65 ⅔ innings pitched in 2020 led the team by more than 25 innings; second place Jack Flaherty recorded only 40 ⅓.
The bill from that will come due in some form or fashion. Flaherty pitched 28 ⅓ innings in April -- he’s more than halfway to last year’s total with five full months still on the horizon.
For Monlina and Knizner, a chance to see Oviedo pitch
This unique experiment is kicking off without one of the pitching staff’s steadiest guiding hands at the wheel. Yadier Molina was placed on the injured list Tuesday with a strained tendon in his right foot, and his absence could exceed the 10-day minimum requirement.
Backup Andrew Knizner has the first shot of his career at an extended run as the team’s starting catcher, and he’s doing so with some extra prep work on his plate.
“It doesn’t really change a whole lot from a catcher’s perspective,” Knizner said. “Just one more guy, one more starter that you need to prepare for.”
Shildt echoed those sentiments, waving away any concern that the transition from one catcher to the other would have negative effects.
“It’s different and it’s not different,” he said. “Kiz has been with us for three years. I don’t see there being anything different. We go over the reports. He’s involved with that whether he’s playing or not.”
Knizner, like his manager and his teammates, mainly expressed excitement about getting to catch Oviedo, saying he, “could be one of the better pitchers in this league,” and that he has “nasty” stuff.
Oviedo’s ‘stuff’ forces opportunity
Stuff plays, even if opportunities can be hard to come by.
The six-man rotation leaves Oviedo scheduled for only two starts, but performance can force opportunity. If he pitches well enough, it will be incumbent on the Cardinals to continue to seek out creative solutions for his usage.
He was optioned to the minor league’s after Wednesday’s start, though the timing of that move will allow him to return for his second planned start of the stretch in May against the Colorado Rockies.
“The team is the one who chooses where I go,” Oviedo said. “All I can do is keep working hard and pitch and do my job. That’s all I can do.”
