After pushing back Cade Cavalli's start earlier this week, the Washington Nationals might have unintentionally set the stage for their righty in dramatic fashion. With the team headed to St. Louis to kick off a weekend series against the Cardinals tonight, their ace will take the mound with a little bit of extra weight in his pockets.
Nationals ink Cade Cavalli to 4-year extension amid 2026 breakout
The Washington Nationals have finally done something that all fans can likely be united on: they have signed a beloved player to a contract extension. After years of watching young stars go elsewhere due to not being able to get guys signed to timely extensions, the Nationals have inked righty Cade Cavalli to a 4-year extension that could potentially keep him locked up through the 2031 season.
Rumors of the potential deal began being floated around yesterday, when FanSided's own Robert Murray broke the report that the Nationals and their ace were in close talks about getting something over the finish line. As of today, Cavalli is now the first piece of the Nationals' current core to be locked up for the foreseeable future, and certainly earned his raise.
The 4-year extension will cover the 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 seasons, with a club option for the 2031 season that could turn the deal into a 5-year, $70 million deal. The price of the option in the final year is estimated to be around $23 million, which could end up being a steal if Cavalli keeps this up over the duration of the deal.
THIS ONE’S FOR D.C.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 18, 2026
Cade Cavalli has agreed to a 4-year contract extension through the 2030 season with a club option for 2031. pic.twitter.com/mZiTaR92of
Cavalli is looking to get over 200 strikeouts on the season tonight, and has a 194:48 K:BB ratio across 164.2 innings. His 3.12 ERA and 1.17 WHIP are also career-best numbers, and the Nationals are banking on his second-half breakout, partially fueled by a new pitch, is more of what's to come for his long-term future.
He was not supposed to hit free agency until 2030, and this extension will buy out all of his arbitration years as well as at least 1 year of free agency. If his option gets picked up, the Nationals could have 2 years of Cavalli's free agency bought out on this extension. The financial details are encouraging as fans have been critical of the Lerners for not opening up the checkbook for years now.
However, as has been their word, they said they would spend money once they felt there was a team and players worth investing in. Hopefully Cavalli is the first player of several to earn an extension from the Nationals, as guys like James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Daylen Lile all could be potential candidates to be locked up, if their agents all agree as well.
What do you think of the Nationals' extension getting done with Cade Cavalli? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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