10:15am: Cavalli will make $862.5K in 2026, according to a report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The club option is worth $4MM and comes with a $7.5K buyout, guaranteeing Cavalli $870K in total.
9:14am: The Nationals announced in the morning that they should avoid arguing with right-handed people Cade Cavalli. The parties have agreed a one-year contract today that includes a club option for the 2027 season. The financial details of the deal are unclear. Cavalli was one of 18 players to swap figures with his club after failing to reach an agreement before the deadline earlier this month. Cavalli put in $900K, and the Nationals put in $825K.
That $75K gap between the two sides was the smallest among the 18 players and teams to exchange statistics. Even with such a small gap in negotiations, however, there was no guarantee that an arbitration hearing would be avoided. Teams are largely subscribing to a “file and trial” approach to arbitration at this point, and so are the Nationals. Parties tend to take a hard line in arbitration negotiations and are willing to fight even for a small amount. That’s because players’ salaries tend to build up during arbitration, and even getting a small payout in the first year of arbitration can be a big deal for a player three or four years down the road. Additionally, arbitration hearings are so focused on precedent that offering one player a salary above the normal range can create an outside case for players and agents to use as a point of comparison in future hearings.
In this case, the Nationals and Cavalli have closed the gap by using a loophole in the arbitration system. By attaching a club option to the agreement, it technically becomes a multi-year plan that cannot be used as a reference point in future negotiations and hearings. Without the cloud of creating a new precedent hanging over the negotiations, the Nationals were more comfortable agreeing terms with Cavalli and more motivated to avoid what could have been a nasty hearing that would have risked damaging the club’s relationship with a former high-flyer who could remain an important part of their team for years to come.
Looking ahead to 2026, Cavalli will try to build on the 2025 season where he returned to the majors for the first time since 2022 and posted a respectable 4.25 ERA through ten starts. He struck out 18.3% of his opponents while walking 6.8%. Solid base metrics, including a 4.09 SIERA, suggest Cavalli could be a solid middle rotation arm for the Nationals next year even if he reaches the ace-level fans in DC dreamed about when he was selected 22nd overall in the 2020 draft seems unlikely at this point. Cavalli will join MacKenzie Gore (assuming he is not traded before the season starts), Foster Griffinagain Brad Lord among the team’s most likely starters in years past. Josiah Gray, Jake Irwinagain Mitchell Parker are among the possible options to fill that group.
