ST. LOUIS — The Nationals and Cade Cavalli have agreed to a four-year extension, the team announced Friday.
Cavalli will make $47 million over those years, according to a person familiar with the terms, though the deal also includes a club option for the 2031 season. If that option is eventually exercised, the contract could be worth up to $70 million, according to that person. That means Cavalli could be atop the Nats’ rotation for the next half decade.
The right-hander, a first-round pick for the Nationals in 2020, has been one of the most consistent young starters in the league this season — and at times one of the most dominant. In 162 ⅔ innings, he has a 3.12 ERA. Since the start of August, he has a 2.06 ERA in eight starts, including an eight-inning, 10-strikeout gem against the Cubs on Aug. 13. The next outing, facing the Rangers, Cavalli, 28, struck out 11 in six innings.
Those were flashes of a shut-down ace. They also help explain why the Nationals wanted to extend him now, more than three years before he would have hit the free-agent market. The deal buys out Cavalli’s last three years of arbitration eligibility, then will keep him in Washington for at least one more season. The Athletic first reported the figures of the extension.
Trending
And beyond extending a promising young pitcher, the deal is a step forward for the Nationals, who have often struggled to retain homegrown talent. They are, of course, now run by Paul Toboni, who is finishing his first season as the team’s president of baseball operations. This is the first extension brokered by Toboni and his front office.
Cavalli starts against the Cardinals for the Nationals in St. Louis on Friday night.
Author
