Cavalli and Nationals Avoid Salary Arbitration
Right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli and the Washington Nationals have reached an agreement to avoid salary arbitration. The one-year contract is valued at $870,000 and includes a team option for 2027.
The agreement was reached after both parties presented their salary proposals on January 8. Cavalli had requested $900,000, while the Nationals offered $825,000. The difference of $75,000 was the smallest among the 18 players who failed to reach an agreement with their teams.
The contract sets a salary of $862,500 for this year, which is the midpoint between the figures presented. The team option is for $4 million with a buyout of $7,500.
Cavalli, 27, was arbitration-eligible for the first time after posting a 3-1 record with a 4.25 ERA in 10 starts in his first regular season in the Major Leagues since 2022. In his career, he has earned a salary of $760,200 in the majors and $370,100 in the minors, earning a total of $579,832.
Selected by Washington with the 22nd pick in the 2020 amateur draft, Cavalli debuted in the Major Leagues on August 26, 2022, his only appearance that year. He suffered an arm injury during a spring training game against the New York Mets on March 14, 2023, and underwent Tommy John surgery a week later.
He began a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment on May 20, 2024, but only made three starts, totaling 8⅔ innings.
Cavalli began 2025 in Class A Fredericksburg and was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg on April 24 and to Triple-A Rochester five days later. He returned to the Major Leagues on August 6 after having a 4-17 record with a 5.47 ERA in 17 starts in the minor leagues last year. Cavalli pitched 4⅓ scoreless innings against the Athletics in his return and earned his first major league win on August 16 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Seventeen players are still scheduled for hearings to be held from January 26 to February 13 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In the most prominent case, two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal requested a record $32 million, while the Detroit Tigers offered the left-handed pitcher $19 million.
