Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ No. 1 pitching prospect…
Cade Cavalli made his MLB debut with one start late in 2022, but felt discomfort in his right shoulder as he worked to prepare for start No. 2 in Washington’s rotation, and was eventually shut down for the year. Then the 25-year-old, 2020 1st Round pick was poised to pitch in the majors last spring, before he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow pitching in Spring Training and underwent Tommy John surgery.
Cavalli took a moment to feel sorry for himself, then quickly reoriented, going full-on rehab mode, following the plan laid out by the Nationals, and putting in the work over the last year to get back where he needs to be to pick up where he left off before the injury.
“He’s rip-raring to go, but he understands what he still needs to do to get to where he needs to be,” manager Davey Martinez said early this spring.
“When he’s back? It’s going to be exciting.”
But Martinez and his coaches have to be aware of where the top-ranked pitcher in the organization is in his rehab process.
“We’ve got to understand where he’s at. He did have Tommy John. So, there is a progression.”
“I think he’s on track,” GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, as quoted by MLB.com writer Jessica Camerato. “His progression has been great. He’s a diligent worker, and he’s a really good patient. He follows the protocol to the T, and our guys always know you’re going to have to pull him back a little bit. He follows them up to the edge, and we pull him back a little bit. That’s how I think we want our guys. We want them [champing] at the bit, and we want to pull them back and tell them to trust us enough to know what’s in your best interests.”
“You look at him, he’s strengthened every part of his body,” Rizzo added, “including his elbow. I think he’s looking forward to teeing it up and getting ready to go. I’m sure looking forward to seeing him pitch. I think he’s going to help us immensely, one of those starting pitchers we all covet.”
Martinez liked the early returns after he watched Cavalli throw in the bullpen in West Palm Beach, FL.
“He’s been looking good. I said, you look at him, and you think, ‘What was wrong with him?’ Right?” the skipper said. “But we’ve still got a long way to go, but he’s progressing. He’s on the right track, so hopefully we’ll get through this and we’ll see him help us this year.”
“I do feel completely healthy, which is great,” Cavalli told reporters this past weekend. “That’s a normal thing, coming into Spring Training, thankfully. The difference this year is I’m still on a rehab schedule, I’m not full-go. So we’re still holding back. But we’re just trusting the process, and that’s the main difference.”
A year into said process, things have so far gone according to plan.
“It’s been great,” the pitcher said.
“Thankfully I had great guys around me that have been through it and they prepped me for all the things you’re going to go through: Which is there’s going to be normal soreness. You went through a surgery. I was able to handle that better mentally. Those guys helped me a lot preparing to go through this, and that made it very smooth and easy for me.”
Asked if it was tougher for him mentally or physically to go through the process, Cavalli said, “I didn’t think anything was super-tough.”
“It’s just I think the mental part of missing the guys and missing that competition was getting me antsy, and it just teaches me patience, and you learn a lot about yourself. And like I’ve said earlier, I just missed baseball a whole lot, and it magnifies that even more whenever it’s taken away from you.”
To be back in camp and with the team in Spring Training, means a lot to the young starter.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “I missed these guys. I didn’t get to see them a whole lot last year, so hopefully we can change that this year.”
As close as he is, has he envisioned being back on the mound in the big leagues?
“Oh yeah. No doubt,” Cavalli said.
He might have said, “Hell, yeah.” We went back and forth while transcribing.
“That’s in my mind. That’s what I’m preparing for and many starts after that to hopefully help this club.”
Returning and being part of what the club is building has Cavalli itching to return.
“Very excited. Lot of great guys, a lot of great talent around here, and it’s fun to be around, and they’re great people, which makes it even better.”