When the Washington Nationals selected right-hander Cade Cavalli in the first round of the 2020 draft, this was always the dream: that he’d one day become the team’s opening day starter.
That dream is finally being realized, even though the path here was far more rigorous than anyone hoped. Cavalli will start opening day for the Nationals on March 26 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The journey to this point for Cavalli was interrupted for the better part of three years. Shortly after his major league debut in 2022, shoulder inflammation cost him the rest of the season. The 27-year-old then underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery in 2023 and missed the entire season. Upon returning in 2024, he was pulled from his rehab attempt due to what felt like a “dead arm.”
Cavalli finally returned to a major league mound late in 2025, and after Washington traded left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers, Cavalli’s strong spring training gives him the nod on opening day.
“He’s the real deal. I don’t want to put goals in front of him that are going to limit him, honestly,” said Simon Mathews, Washington’s pitching coach, last month. “He has the potential to be extremely special.”
That sentiment is repeated throughout Washington’s spring training facility. There’s hope surrounding Cavalli’s newest pitch, a sweeper, which Mathews and assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle introduced to Cavalli over Zoom this winter.
The goal, Mathews said, is to enhance Cavalli’s repertoire against right-handed batters.
In two spring starts thus far, Cavalli has thrown six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. President of baseball operations Paul Toboni said last month that “the sky’s the limit for him and he’s full go.”
Cavalli should lead a pitching staff that has a blend of experience and upside starters. The Nationals recently signed right-hander Zack Littell, and they added veterans Miles Mikolas and Foster Griffin this winter.
After all the time watching rather than pitching, Cavalli hopes to stay on the mound as long as possible.
“I want to get out there as many times, take the time for 32, 33 starts and go help this club win,” Cavalli said last month. “That’s my goal. I love these guys. I’ve gotten to know them extremely well. I’m really happy with where our team is at, where our culture’s headed, and I just want to stay healthy all season and go compete for these guys.”
On March 14, 2023, Cavalli suffered the elbow injury that led to surgery during a spring training start. Almost exactly three years later, Wednesday’s announcement signals that Cavalli is all the way back.