‘It’s a blessing’: After 7 years apart, Oviedo reunited with family

Oviedo, 25, finds himself in a nebulous spot in his profession. He’s preventing for a spot on the Opening Day roster, and each pitch brings him one step nearer to — or one step farther from — Pittsburgh. Oviedo won’t be gifted a Major League roster spot; he should carry out. He navigates this stress each time he steps on a mound. That stress, nevertheless, is confined to the realm of baseball. For greater than half a decade, Oviedo has handled a special stress, a special stress.

While Oviedo chased the Major League dream within the United States, his household remained in Cuba, separated from Oviedo on account of circumstance. As Oviedo realized one dream, a brand new one fashioned: He wished to be reunited together with his household.

Nearly seven years after signing with the Cardinals as an 18-year-old, that dream got here to fruition. His household is right here. His mom, Yudith. His father, Lazaro. His sister, Jeanine. They’re all right here. They’re collectively once more.

“It’s a blessing,” Johan mentioned. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted.”

“I’m happy. I’m proud. Incredibly, we’ve made it,” Yudith mentioned in Spanish, preventing again tears. “We’re here, and this has been a beautiful experience.”

When Oviedo signed with the Cardinals on July 2, 2016, Johan deliberate on his household becoming a member of him within the United States following a short stint within the Dominican Summer League. As the remainder of the household obtained their affairs so as, occasions past the household’s management prevented Jeanine, Lazaro and Yudith from coming to America. Johan was separated from his household for the primary time in his life, dwelling in a rustic that he had by no means been to.

To Johan, he would by no means have had the chance to pitch in America if not for his household. Johan’s grandfather, Juan, cherished the sport and took Lazaro and his childhood pals to a neighborhood subject, organizing pick-up baseball video games. Juan’s brother and Johan’s great-uncle, Celso, performed in Mexico for a time. Johan joked that baseball is in his blood, and whereas Johan by no means met Juan, he’s been advised that Juan would’ve cherished to see him play.

Lazaro, who threw the javelin and kayaked, often took Johan to a close-by subject when he returned dwelling from work, serving to his son refine his recreation. Even after Johan’s practices, Lazaro carved out time for the 2 to proceed working. Johan remembers that across the time he turned 10, Lazaro stopped enjoying catch with Johan as a result of his son was throwing the baseball too laborious. Manuel Alejandro Rivera, a cousin who Johan thought-about a brother, assumed catching duties as Johan’s velocity elevated.

“He’s been my first coach my whole life,” Oviedo mentioned. “I think he knows me better than anybody else.”

Oviedo saved in contact together with his household by way of phone throughout the season, however they skilled technological limitations. Initially, Oviedo may solely discuss to his household in the event that they went to a park and paid for an hour’s value of subpar web — 2G, if that. The know-how steadily improved, and though Oviedo admitted the charges have been excessive, he didn’t thoughts so long as he and his household may talk.

“We haven’t been here physically, but over that entire time, we’ve tried to be there at the very least in communication through the phone,” Yudith mentioned. “That separation is difficult, but we’ve always tried to make him feel so he’s not alone. Calling him or messaging him as if we were together.”

Oviedo wasn’t utterly separated from his household upon going professional, returning to Cuba to see his household throughout the first few offseasons of his profession. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nevertheless, Oviedo has not returned.

Technology helped bridge the space, however the loneliness persevered. He longed to be in his household’s presence. He loved being within the United States, chasing the Majors and studying the tradition, however he all the time felt the absence. One a part of his thoughts was on baseball. The different half was on Cuba.

As Johan reached the Majors, he hoped his household would have a possibility to return to the United States. This previous fall, after years of craving and wishing, Jeanine, Lazaro and Yudith arrived in America. For the primary time since Johan was a teen, the Oviedo household was as soon as once more complete.

“Thank God for being here together,” mentioned Jeanine in Spanish. “It’s been years that we’ve been apart. I’m very proud because [Johan] fought for this, and I know he’s good. He’s going to make it.”

“It’s a feeling that you can’t believe, because it’s been so many years apart,” mentioned Yudith. “It’s everything.”

In latest months, the Oviedos have made a number of stops round Florida, making journeys to Orlando for Disney World and Jacksonville with household. That contains visits to the baseball diamond. When Johan threw a dwell bullpen throughout the offseason, Yudith was delivered to tears. On March 11, Oviedo pitched in a recreation in entrance of his household for the primary time. He threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts, his greatest efficiency of spring.

In time, Jeanine, Lazaro and Yudith will journey north and watch Johan pitch at PNC Park. Yudith can be in attendance, however her eyes won’t be on the sphere.

“It’s going to be hard, because I don’t like to watch his games. I get very nervous,” Yudith mentioned. “I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m here. So when I get [to Pittsburgh], I don’t know what will happen.”

“I feel like if you’re not a parent, you wouldn’t understand,” Lazaro mentioned in Spanish. “Only the parents know what it feels like in that moment. A friend or someone else can get nervous, but what a parent feels is different. Only a parent knows. I think it’s going to be very difficult, but this is what we’re here for.”

As Johan, Jeanine, Lazaro and Yudith mirrored on their time collectively thus far, all of them shared the identical sentiment — that this reunion is the conclusion of a dream.

Yudith’s solely dream was to be reunited along with her son. Jeanine, 18, shared how she could have the chance to pursue her personal goals on this nation, too. Johan appears ahead to the little issues that he missed, whether or not it’s celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day for the primary time since he left or having fun with his mom’s dwelling cooking. As for Lazaro? It’s nearly an excessive amount of to understand.

“I wished to say that it’s very troublesome. No, troublesome will not be the appropriate phrase. I might say it’s unusual. It was unusual after we obtained again right here, as a result of that is one thing that [we] dreamed about for a very long time. It’s one factor if you suppose it and dream it versus when it really turns into actuality.

“The difference between where we were and where we are now is very distinct. Being together is different. It’s like how it was back in Cuba, but that hasn’t been the case for years. It’s something that is difficult to take in and digest, because it’s good, but sometimes so good that it’s not even something you ever dreamed of.”