The Nationals avoided an arbitration hearing with right-hander Cade Cavalli by agreeing to a one-year contract Sunday that includes a club option for 2027.
Cavalli’s new deal will pay him $862,500 in 2026, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. That figure falls directly between the $900,000 that Cavalli had filed for and the Nationals' counter of $825,000. The '27 club option is worth $4 million and carries a $7,500 buyout.
In other words, Cavalli's deal is worth a guaranteed $870,000 between his 2026 salary and the potential buyout for '27.
The 27-year-old Cavalli returned to the Majors last Aug. 6 for the first time since Tommy John surgery in March 2023. He made 10 starts down the stretch, going 3-1 with a 4.25 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. Cavalli's only previous start with the Nats had come in his Major League debut on Aug. 26, 2022.
Selected 22nd overall by the Nationals in the 2020 MLB Draft, Cavalli quickly climbed through the Minor League ranks in '21, finishing the season with Triple-A Rochester after beginning the year with High-A Wilmington. He then performed well enough with Rochester in '22 to earn a late-season callup, only to experience right shoulder inflammation after his first big league outing.
Cavalli reported to camp the following spring expecting to compete for a rotation spot before spraining his UCL in Spring Training and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery. Following his long road back, he struggled out of the gate with Rochester last season before settling in well enough to pitch his way back to the Nationals.
Cavalli was the only one of the Nationals' five arbitration-eligible players with whom the team did not reach an agreement prior to last week's deadline. The club previously agreed to one-year contracts with second baseman Luis García Jr. ($6.875 million), shortstop CJ Abrams ($4.2 million), right-hander Jake Irvin ($2.8 million) and left-hander MacKenzie Gore ($5.6 million).