Nationals Interim GM Believes Cade Cavalli Closing in on Promotion

The Washington Nationals have said all season that the plan is for Cade Cavalli to join the starting rotation at some point this season.

Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said that hasn’t changed in comments over the weekend to beat reporters, including the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden.

The former first-round pick in 2020 has just one Major League appearance, which came in 2022 when he made one start for the Nationals and gave up six runs and seven hits in 4.1 innings. Still, he’s been regularly listed among the Nationals’ Top 30 prospects since he was drafted out of Oklahoma.

More News: AL West Contenders Named Best Trade Fit for Nationals' Kyle Finnegan

Cavalli missed all of 2023 and most of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s no longer injured, so this is all about building him up so he can have a role sometime this season.

He is still considered a starter, DeBartolo said. So, when he comes up, he’ll be in rotation. He’s closing in, but DeBartolo said they’re looking for one more thing from Cavalli.

“I think Cade is getting very close,” DeBartolo said. “I saw him a couple of weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago in Lehigh Valley, and he had a nice start. It was his first time pitching six innings in a game this year. So just looking for a little more consistency. His stuff is there, and he's had some good outings, and like I said he's getting close and I'm really happy with how he's progressed. And his outlook and everything else, I'm just looking for a little more consistency and I don't think he's that far off.”

More News: Nationals Predicted to Trade Kyle Finnegan to Division Rival at Trade Deadline

Now out of the rehab phase of his recovery, he is 4-6 with a 5.06 ERA this season with three different affiliates. He has 65 strikeouts and 30 walks in 64 innings.

He has spent the bulk of the year with Triple-A Rochester, where he is 3-5 with a 5.89 ERA in 13 starts. He has 58 strikeouts and 27 walks in 55 innings.

Since that six-inning start against Lehigh Valley on June 20, he hasn’t reached six innings again. But he has thrown at least five innings in each of his last two starts, the last of which was on Saturday, also against Lehigh Valley. He gave up five hits and four runs in 5.1 innings.

More News: Nationals Sign Top Selection Eli Willits to Record Contract for Prep Player

Washington’s rotation as of now is made up of MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Michael Soroka, Mitchell Parker and Brad Lord. Rotation options DJ Herz and Derek Law are both on the 60-day injured list with elbow injuries, both of which led to major surgery.

If the Nats decided to trade Parker or Soroka at the deadline, that could open up a space for Cavalli to join the rotation as soon as next month.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.