JUPITER, Fla. — Johan Oviedo exists.
I saw him with my own two eyes Saturday.
He’s still on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster. Still in that phase of a baseball career where it makes sense to expect a 24-year-old to get better, not worse. Still an impressive presence on the mound, where the tall, strong righthander fires high-velocity fastballs along with sliders, changeups, curveballs and a sinker he’s been trying out.
Yet when the discussion turns to the starting pitching pinch that is putting a squeeze on the Cardinals, Oviedo seems pretty far away, doesn’t he?
He’s become easy to overlook, and that’s saying something, considering he stands at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds.