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The Pittsburgh Pirates will have some difficult decisions to make with their starting rotation in 2025.

One pitcher who could vie for the fifth spot in the rotation is right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo. Oviedo is returning from Tommy John surgery last November and made 32 starts for the Pirates in 2023. While the 26-year-old right-hander may very well work his way into becoming Pittsburgh’s fifth starter, manager Derek Shelton said his team will take an abundance of caution with Oviedo next season.

“Oviedo, we’re going to have to be thoughtful because he’s coming off Tommy John,” Shelton said at the Winter Meetings. “So there is going to be some sort of innings that we have to benchmark and watch for.”

Oviedo was acquired in a rare division trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 after he spent the first half of the season going back and forth between the Major Leagues and Triple-A Memphis. In his seven starts for Pittsburgh in 2022, he went 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA. Oviedo asserted himself in the starting rotation in 2023 and had a solid yet unspectacular season, going 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA over 32 starts and he struck out 158 batters in his 177.2 innings pitched. His control was detrimental throughout the season, though, as he posted a 1.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Oviedo had 15 outings where he walked at least three batters and led baseball with 13 hit-by-pitches hit in 2023. The right-hander showed signs of turning things around in the second half, as he went 6-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 77.1 innings pitched over 14 starts.

Oviedo’s path to the starting rotation is much less clear with the emergence of 2024 Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. Bailey Falter also proved to be a solid option and Mitch Keller has been the Pirates’ most consistent pitcher over the last two seasons. Along with the four pitchers who already appear to be entrenched in the rotation for 2025, Pittsburgh also boasts three top-100 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s rankings, Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington.

All three right-handed pitching prospects reached Triple-A Indianapolis last season, so their debuts could be right around the corner in 2025.

Oviedo’s experience in the bullpen could come in handy, especially with the Pirates wanting to manage his innings in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Oviedo has made 14 appearances out of the bullpen in his career. The Pirates bullpen more than needs the help, as they had the fourth-highest ERA in baseball last season.

Whether it’s as a starting pitcher or a reliever, how the Pirates manage Oviedo’s innings will be among the topics of discussion entering 2025. If he can assert himself as one of the Pirates’ five best starting pitchers in Spring Training, an already strong rotation could be even deeper next season.

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A University of Pittsburgh research group is reaching new limits and perfecting a robot to help people with ALS live better lives.

Stretch, a robot by the company Hello Robot, looks like a Roomba from the future. Researchers in Pitt’s Accessible Smart-Tech Research Group teamed up with Hello Robot and the ALS Association to work on advancing Stretch. 

“For people who have these dexterity issues or mobility issues, you can actually send the robot to do things for you. Grab a cup of water and help you to pick up things from the floor,” said Dr. Dan Ding, a University of Pittsburgh professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology.

The mobile manipulator is mostly used for research and educational purposes. Ding said the company hopes people will be able to buy them to have one in their home.

Through this new partnership, the Pitt researchers are focusing on getting the robot ready to help people with ALS do things that the progressive neurological condition takes away. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and it gets harder to perform daily tasks. It can rob people of the ability to reach for objects, walk, talk and eat.

Stretch just needs some fine-tuning.

“We really want to understand how this technology can help the individuals at different stages. And so especially when people go down to the later stage that they have to rely on a power wheelchair and then they would rely on a lot of manipulation support,” Ding said. 

She said they’re working directly with people living with ALS, their families, caregivers and clinicians to understand their everyday life needs — whether that’s help with eating, personal care, chores, or even if it’s as simple as picking things up.

“To identify the tasks that truly matter to them but also feasible to the robot. Robots cannot do everything at this time. So, we have to prioritize what kind of work that robot can really help is meaningful. So, these kind of things that we can help with and they don’t have to constantly ask caregiver to do things for them,” Ding said. 

They hope to program the robot to give independence, safety and hope to anyone living with disabilities. Ding said it’s always rewarding when they develop technology that makes a difference in people’s lives. 

“It’s very motivating for us to hear that whatever we gave them has actually helped them to do things independently that they don’t have at all, and then we take it for granted. But they have to, for a very small thing, ask people to help. And now with this technology, they don’t. They can actually decide when I want to do it,” she said. 

The Pitt research group has two years to further develop the robot. The project is funded by $400,000 from the ALS Association.

For anyone who has ALS or family members who would like to help them with this project, the research group would love to hear from you. Participating would include getting the robot to practice in the lab and your home.

There’s no timeline for when the improved robot will be available for consumers to purchase.