Nationals name Cavalli as opening day starting pitcher

Cade Cavalli will take the mound for the Washington Nationals on opening day, the team announced Wednesday, his first start in such a position.

The franchise had a hole in the rotation after trading All-Star MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers this offseason. Cavalli is now primed to take over that spot as Washington’s top pitcher. 

Cavalli’s start in the Nationals’ opener on March 26 in Chicago against the Cubs will be just his 12th in the majors. He becomes the third pitcher since 1999 to make an opening day start with fewer than a dozen big league appearances under his belt. 

“As we talk through what we want this culture to be about, what we want our team to be about, talk about leadership, talk about competitors on the mound, you’re the first guy that comes to mind,” first-year manager Blake Butera told Cavalli in a video posted to social media. 

Cavalli was a first-round pick in 2020 after an impressive college career at Oklahoma. But his path to a major league roster was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a UCL strain that required Tommy John surgery and a lengthy recovery that featured struggles with what’s called dead arm.

The 27-year-old debuted in 2022 but made just one start. The right-hander didn’t return to Nationals Park until last summer, when he notched a 3-1 record, 4.25 ERA and 40 strikeouts across 10 starts. 

“We’re going to set the tone this year,” Cavalli said in the Nationals’ social media video.