On Friday, the Washington Nationals and RHP Cade Cavalli agreed to a four-year extension with a club option for 2031. This is a great sign for Nats fans, as it shows the Lerner family is finally ready to pay home grown talent and keep them around.
Ultimately, he is the first of many different Nats players who could be given extensions this offseason. It’s a good start locking down your ace for the foreseeable future but for anyone to begin praising the Lerner’s they will have to open their checkbook a couple of more times this offseason.
I feel like I need to mention why James Wood will most likely not sign a contract extension. It all comes down to his agent: Scott Boras. The superagent is famous for taking his clients all the way to free agency. Because of that, I believe that it’s highly unlikely that Wood will sign an extension and will not include him. Daylen Lile would be another logical candidate, but we talked about his case just a couple days ago.
CJ Abrams
The man they call “Alien” has really blossomed into a superstar cornerstone player for the Nationals this season. For everything James Wood has accomplished CJ Abrams has been right there with him.
One of the main pieces in the Juan Soto trade that came the other way, he has helped return a fan base that was ready to walk away following that trade. Abrams has since become a two-time All-Star and recently he became only the third player in Nationals/Expos history to have a 30/30 season.
While his future in the field is definitely not at shortstop, the combination of his bat and speed are undeniable. For the Lerner's to actually get serious about winning again and show the fan base it’s worth pouring their time and money into this franchise again, they have to extend Abrams this offseason.
Connelly Early
The next contender I believe the Nats should sign to an extension this offseason is Connelly Early. The young lefty was acquired from the Boston Red Sox a couple of weeks before the trade deadline this season.
Nats fans have not been able to watch Early pitch yet as he has been working back from an elbow injury. Paul Toboni did recently state in a radio interview that Early should make his Nats debut on September 26. He debuted late in the 2025 season for the Red Sox and was starting to come into his own this season.
This trade reminded me of when the Nats acquired Gio Gonzalez from the Athletics. A young left-handed starter with years left of team control. Less than a month after the trade the Nats gave Gonzales a 5-year, $42 Million extension that bought out the rest of his arbitration years and the first year of free agency.
That is the type of contract extension I would like to see Early sign. It would be a low-risk, high-reward type of deal for the Nationals. Locking him down would give the Nats a nice 1-2 punch for years to come at the top of their rotation.
The Lerner Family Needs to continue to Step Up
Washington Nationals fans have spent years cheering for the future that they have been promised. That future is now and it’s time for the Lerner’s to put the money where their mouths are. This is a very important offseason for this current core of young Nats players. Extending Cade Cavalli is a nice start but it is far from enough to convince anyone that the Lerner's are ready to be serious about winning again.
Add us as a preferred source on Google