The Washington Nationals announced on Friday that they extended 28-year-old right-hander Cade Cavalli through the 2030 season. The deal guarantees $47M over the course of the contract, coming out to a $11.75M AAV. Washington also possesses a $23M club option for the 2031 season.
This is a big deal for Washington, as they have quietly assembled a strong core of young talent in recent years, and it looks like they’re preparing to take the next step.
Cade Cavalli has been a bright spot amidst a pretty dire Nationals pitching staff this season. The former first-round pick owns a 12-5 record this year to go along with a 3.12 ERA and 192 strikeouts in just 164.2 innings. The Oklahoma native ranks top ten in the National League in strikeouts, ERA, strikeout rate, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also leads all of baseball in games started with three earned runs or fewer and has the fifth most games with ten or more strikeouts.
Much of his success this year has come in the second half of this season, as he owns a stellar 2.05 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break. He credits much of his recent success to adding a cutter to his arsenal, a pitch he uses against both righties and lefties. He throws it harder than most (93-94 MPH) and utilizes it to suppress hard contact on the ground and miss barrels up in the zone.
His cutter complements an already impressive pitch mix built around his upper-90s four-seam fastball and devastating secondary offerings. The run value on Cavalli’s breaking balls sits at 14, a mark in the 99th percentile among all qualified pitchers. All things considered, it’s clear why the Nationals wanted to tie him down long term: he possesses one of the National League’s most refined arsenals.
Simply put, this gives the Nationals a pitching foundation to build on. The offense ranks top three in baseball in both runs scored and slugging percentage. They also lead the majors in stolen bases. The Nats can flat-out score with the best of them.
Their struggles come on the pitching side. Foster Griffin is no longer with the team after being shipped to the Cleveland Guardians, and Zack Littell fell flat. Miles Mikolas and Jake Irvin have also struggled to gain traction in the Nationals’ rotation.
The offense kept them in contention for much of the season, but the dog days of late summer exposed their lack of quality arms. That also goes for the bullpen, which has endured lacklustre performance and extensive injury concerns. The return from the Yankees for star first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. was supposed to aid them in that department, but both Jake Bird and Yovanny Cruz have failed to contribute in any meaningful fashion.
By keeping Cavalli in the nation’s capital for the next four years, the organization now has two proper starters to build around: the aforementioned Cavalli and the emerging Andrew Alvarez.
The future is bright for the Washington Nationals. They’ve assembled a potent young offense centered around James Wood and CJ Abrams, and they’re looking to shore up their pitching next.
Should they add the right pieces to complement Cavalli and Alvarez, Washington may finally complete their rebuild and be ready to contend once more.
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