Hidden Cavalli

It's depressing how common it is for a player to go from a highly-touted prospect to 3 years of injury hell to 'what could have been' now. There's tons. Michael Kopech, Andrew Painter, Michael Soroka, arguably Walker Buehler now. So seeing where Cade Cavalli's ended up is a little upsetting. Cavalli in 2022 was one of the big can't miss prospects for a Nats team that was desperate to make a comeback. In a cycle where the Nats added people like MacKenzie Gore, Keibert Ruiz and C.J. Abrams, the hope was that Cavalli would add to that mix and bring the team back. In actuality, Cavalli made 1 start in 2022, got hurt, and missed the next two seasons.

So finally in August of 2025, Cavalli finally gets to be an everyday starter in the majors. He's 26, perfectly healthy, and wants to jumpstart something in Washington. His first four starts go really well, including 2 scoreless outings and two great starts against the Phillies. He's already looking like one of the best things to happen to the Nationals during this depressing second half.

...and then Cade Cavalli has to face the Yankees. And he promptly gets the snot beaten out of him. In two and a third innings, he gives up 8 runs on 8 hits, including 4 home runs. Let the record show that he also struck out 4, and I think two of them were Anthony Volpe.

It's not like people haven't come back from a rough start before. But this was the centerpiece of a comeback many years in the making, and a big moment that would have made, or broken, his legitimacy in the majors. And it lasted barely three innings. You can make the case that it was the way the wind was blowing for this Yankees team at this moment, or just how unlucky the Nats have been this year, but now the Nats have to rethink things yet again. They thought they had a surefire guy in Josiah Gray, he's been gone since early 2024. They thought they had a surefire guy in Mitchell Parker, he's 7-14 with a -1.2 WAR this year. They thought they had a workable piece in D.J. Herz, he's been AWOL this year. So now if Cavalli isn't gonna work either, and they're down to Gore, Jake Irvin, Brad Lord and a frigging prayer...that doesn't exactly fill the Nationals with confidence that they're gonna compete anytime this decade.

The Nationals have James Wood, C.J. Abrams, Dylan Crews, and the possibility of Robert Hassell and Brady House working at the MLB level. They have Keibert Ruiz for the rest of the decade, but he's been shockingly average. Who knows if the Nats will feel they'll need to trade some of these guys in order to achieve prospects that work. And it's insane that I have to make that statement after everyone they got in the 2021 rebuild.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of rebuilds, a rookie catcher who's taken to the majors extremely well.