Bad news struck the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon ahead of the opener against the Athletics. Making matters worse, it involves one of their top prospects.

Cade Cavalli, just four days removed from his major league debut, will be shut down for two weeks with right shoulder inflammation, manager Davey Martinez announced to begin his pregame press conference.

Cavalli was charged with seven runs on six hits, two walks and three hit batters while striking out seven and throwing 99 pitches (57 strikes) in his highly anticipated debut Friday against the Reds. When the 24-year-old returned to Nats Park the next day to begin his between-starts program, he reported tightness in his right shoulder. The Nationals stopped him from throwing and ordered an MRI the next day.

“I'm gonna start off by saying that we are going to shut Cade down for two weeks,” Martinez said. “He threw in the game. Came back the next day, was going through his routine, he's playing catch. After about 10 throws, he said he felt tight in the shoulder area. So we shut him down. He came in, we got him an MRI right away.”

The MRI came back mostly clean. There was no damage to the shoulder itself, but there was some inflammation.

CJ Abrams has never struggled to hit. Not as a teenager, when he was named Georgia High School Player of the Year. Not as a first-time professional, when he hit .401 in 32 games with the Padres’ rookie ball team in Arizona. Not last season at Double-A, where he had a .363 on-base percentage in 42 games before suffering a leg injury. And not this season at Triple-A, where he posted an .840 OPS in 38 games.

Twelve games into his Nationals career, though, Abrams’ offensive struggles are hard to ignore. He’s just 6-for-44 so far, good for a .136 batting average. He has zero extra base hits. He has yet to draw a walk. He has yet to score a run. He has struck out 12 times.

Extremely small sample, yes. But if you’ve been watching and wondering where the highly touted prospect’s offensive game is, you’re not alone.

“At times, you can see he gets a little frustrated,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And I have to reiterate: ‘Hey, you’re doing fine.’ ”

As he’s done with countless other young players struggling to get going at the plate, Martinez makes sure to mention how he hit .139 in 53 games as a rookie with the Cubs in 1986. He went on to have a long and productive career, finishing with a .276/.341/.389 slash line and 1,599 hits across 16 major league seasons.

Would you believe there are only 34 games remaining in the 2022 season? (Some of you may be thinking right now: That's 34 games too many.) We haven't quite reached the home stretch yet, but we are down to the final 20 percent of the regular season.

There's plenty not to look forward to as the Nationals brace for a September filled with games against NL East contenders, but there are a few things worth anticipating. Like a rotation that could feature Cade Cavalli, MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray at the same time for at least a couple of weeks. A middle infield combo of CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia. The unexpected emergence of Joey Meneses and Ildemaro Vargas, who one month ago were nobodies and now are the Nats' two most productive position players.

The team will get back to work Tuesday night when the Athletics come to town for the first time, believe it or not, since 2005 at RFK Stadium. In the meantime, let's take some time to answer your questions. If you've got something to ask, type it up in the comments section below. Then check back for my replies throughout the morning ...

In a lost season, the Nationals bullpen has been the one bright spot to consistently point to on this roster. It undoubtedly has been this team’s strength.

But all strengths have weak days from time to time.

Today was one of those times as a tied ballgame between the Nats and Reds quickly became a 6-2 loss for the home team after Jake McGee gave up two longballs in relief of Paolo Espino in the sixth inning.

Espino was having an efficient outing for much of the night. Often plagued this season by the inability to put away hitters with two strikes and often with two outs, the Nats starter had put up four zeros through his first five innings. The only blemish being a solo homer by Kyle Farmer on a 1-2 slider with two outs in the first.

Entering the sixth having thrown just 76 pitches, Espino was looking to complete six frames for the first time since Sept. 13, 2021 against the Marlins. But a single and a double (both coming in two-strike counts) put two runners in scoring position and Espino on the ropes with one out.

Now that the dust has settled from Cade Cavalli’s major league debut, the Nationals turn their attention to trying to win this series against the Reds. They need to bounce back tonight after last night’s loss.

Paolo Espino makes his fifth career appearance against the Reds tonight, but just his first away from Cincinnati. He’s 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA over his one start and three relief appearances against Cincy. 

Espino will not only be looking for his first win of the season, but he will also be looking to snap the Nats’ streak of 42 consecutive games without the starting pitcher earning a victory.

Luis Cessa brings a 3-2 record and 5.67 ERA to the mound for the Reds. He’s only made two starts in his 38 appearances this season and only combined to pitch three innings over those two starts, setting up a possible bullpen game. Cessa has a 5.79 ERA over four career relief appearances against the Nats.

CINCINNATI REDS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left-center field 

The Nationals announced two minor, but noteworthy, roster moves before their second game of this weekend series against the Reds.

Yadiel Hernandez was transferred to the 60-day injured list, ending his season while he still recovers from a left calf strain. He was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 20 (retroactive to Aug. 19), but his calf was not healing at a rate in which the team thought he could be ready to play in any of the remaining 35 games.

So the Nationals decided to shut down the 34-year-old outfielder so he can start getting ready for next year.

“He's had a calf, and from past experience with these calves, it's going to take a little bit longer than we anticipated,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame press conference. “But those calves, you gotta be really careful. So we didn't think that he was going to be ready in time. 

“What I'd like to see is that when Yadi leaves here for this winter that he's completely healthy. That he's running without all the baseball (things), but that he's running full tilt, can do some outfield stuff. This way he doesn't have to go home and worry about that. He just could have a normal winter and get ready for spring training.”

It did not come with the fanfare and electricity of Stephen Strasburg’s major league debut on the same mound in 2010.

There were not 40,315 fans on their feet for the duration of the game. There was no national audience nor local news channel cameras packing the press box.

And the end result was certainly not the same.

No, Cade Cavalli’s major league debut was not the second coming of Strasmas. But it was the first wave of the Nationals’ top prospects reaching the major leagues, and a significant sign of what they’re trying to accomplish with this rebuild.

Cavalli didn’t match Strasburg’s incredible 14-strikeout performance on June 8, 2010. But no one expected him to, and the Nationals didn’t need him to repeat that.

They watched Cade Cavalli take the mound at 7:05 p.m. on a muggy August evening in the nation’s capital with the kind of anticipation that only comes when a highly rated pitching prospect makes his major league debut.

And when he departed 93 minutes later, all anyone in attendance at Nationals Park could do was feel some mixed combination of emotions.

Clearly, there were things to like about Cavalli’s debut, most notably the fact he struck out six of the first 16 Reds batters he faced. And clearly, there were things to be concerned about regarding the 4 1/3-inning start, namely the seven runs that were charged to him as he struggled mightily to command his repertoire while he sweated buckets on the mound.

It will be some time before we can look back at this 7-3 loss to Cincinnati and say definitively whether it presaged what was to come for Cavalli, or whether it was an insignificant blip to begin a standout career. Suffice it to say, there weren’t a whole lot of conclusions to draw from this, except to note the 24-year-old right-hander obviously has the stuff to get big league hitters out … but only when he commands it well.

Over the course of his 99-pitch debut, Cavalli threw just 57 strikes. Some of his misses were close, with all credit going to the Reds for not chasing after them. But a good number of them didn’t come anywhere close to the strike zone, especially the three errant curveballs that plunked opposing right-handed hitters.

Happy Cade Cavalli Day to all who celebrate!

The Nationals made it official by selecting the contract of their top pitching prospect for his major league debut, one of several roster moves made before tonight’s series opener against the Reds.

When the 2020 first-round pick takes the mound at Nats Park, he will become the 24th pitcher drafted, signed and developed by the Nationals (2005-present) to start a game for Washington.

Cavalli is the No. 52 prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America, and No. 58 according to MLB Pipeline. He leads qualified Nationals minor leaguers with a .215 opponents’ batting average and ranks second in ERA (3.71), strikeouts (104) and WHIP (1.18). He went 6-4 with a 3.71 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Rochester this season.

More recently, the 24-year-old has been nothing short of dominant. Over his last seven starts, Cavalli went 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA, 43 strikeouts, 12 walks and a .180 opponents’ batting average. He didn’t allow an earned run in 15 ⅔ consecutive innings, recording 16 strikeouts and three walks in three starts from July 6 to July 27. In his last two starts with the Red Wings, Cavalli struck out 19 batters, allowing just five walks to go along with a 1.50 ERA and a .128 opponents’ batting average (5-for-39).

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

·         Selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester

·         Returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated infielder Luis García from the 10-day Injured List

·         Optioned right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott to Triple-A Rochester (on Wednesday)

·         Unconditionally released third baseman Maikel Franco

The Washington Nationals are back in D.C. for a six-game homestand that features three matchups against the Cincinnati Reds followed by a three-game series vs. the Oakland Athletics. Single-game tickets start at just $9. Fans interested in purchasing tickets should visit nationals.com/Tickets.

The season’s 10th homestand features Ladies Night; DC Comics™ Day; Teacher Appreciation Day; City Connect uniforms; an MLB Network clear tote bag giveaway; Filipino Heritage Night; Jewish Community Day; Georgetown University Day; a Nationals Hawaiian shirt giveaway; Grateful Dead Night; Heroes Day; First Responders Night; Summer Reading Sunday; Signature Sunday; Kids Run the Bases; and more.

As a reminder, if you would like to cover any events at Nationals Park, please contact Valerie Todryk Krebs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Devon Bridges at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for credentialing information.

FRIDAY, AUG. 26 vs. CINCINNATI REDS (7:05 PM)

• Ladies Night

o   This year, Ladies Night and DC Comics™ Day fall on the same evening, giving the Nationals the unique opportunity to pay tribute to real-world superheroes in the community. The Ladies Night special event ticket includes a limited edition Wonder Woman t-shirt, vendor activations, food and drink tastings, a Q&A panel with women from D.C.’s professional sports teams, and more.

It’s a special occasion when a pitcher makes his major league debut, all the more so when he starts the game, and especially when he enters that start as a highly touted prospect who could figure prominently into the organization’s long-term plan.

So make no mistake, Cade Cavalli’s big league debut tonight is a big deal for the Nationals, who desperately need their 2020 top draft pick to realize his full potential and help lead this rebuilding pitching staff for years to come.

Cavalli will be the 28th starting pitcher to make his major league debut for the Nationals since 2005, and that list is littered with long-forgotten names (Shairon Martis, J.D. Martin, Taylor Jordan) who never really amounted to anything. It also includes a few other highly touted prospects, some of whom did go on to realize their full potential for the Nats (Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann) or for other clubs (Lucas Giolito).

What’s most notable, though, is the lack of prominent pitching debuts for this franchise in recent years. Cavalli is only the sixth Nats starter to make his major league debut the last four years, joining the likes of Austin Voth (2018), Wil Crowe (2020), Joan Adon (2021), Evan Lee (2022) and Jackson Tetreault (2022).

The last first-round pick to debut as a starter was Erick Fedde in 2017. The last one to debut with significant fanfare was Giolito in 2016. And the last one to actually earn the win in his first career start was none other than Strasburg way back on the glorious night of June 8, 2010.

SEATTLE – The focus of the remainder of the Nationals’ season is going to be on the handful of young players they’re now trying to build around, a group that will see its highest-profile addition yet Friday night when top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli makes his major league debut.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still some room for an older player or two to take advantage of the opportunity he’s being given to make a name for himself, and possibly earn his way into the Nats’ 2023 plans as well.

We’ve already seen Joey Meneses do it with six homers in his first three weeks in the big leagues. Now how about Ildemaro Vargas, the 31-year-old utility infielder who has suddenly become the Nationals’ everyday third baseman and just finished off a strong road trip with a bang.

Vargas’ two-run homer off Mariners closer Paul Sewald with two outs in the top of the ninth this afternoon lifted the Nats to an unexpected 3-1 victory in the finale of a brief, two-game series. It was Vargas’ second homer of this West Coast trip, his previous one coming in his first at-bat in San Diego during Thursday night’s win over the Padres.

"I've always worked hard to get an opportunity like this one, to where I get an opportunity to play every day," Vargas said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I'm very thankful to the team, the organization, for the opportunity I've gotten. I'm just trying to take advantage and keep working hard and contribute any way I can."

As the Nationals look forward to watching Cade Cavalli, CJ Abrams and possibly MacKenzie Gore finish out the last month of the 2022 season, they announced the complete 2023 schedule earlier today.

The 2023 Major League Baseball season will be the first to feature a balanced schedule for all 30 teams since interleague play was introduced in 1997. Each of the 30 clubs will play against one another, while also hosting every other club in their home market at least once every other season.

Opening day will start the 19th season of Nationals baseball in our nation’s capital with the Braves visiting on Thursday, March 30. It will be the fifth time the Nats have faced the Braves on opening day. It will also start a six-game homestand against the Braves and Rays to start the regular season.

The Nats’ first road trip of 2023 takes them to Colorado and Anaheim for seven games to face the Rockies and Angels. It will be the second year in a row the Nats will travel to face old friend Anthony Rendon and the Halos, who do not make a trip to D.C. next year.

The annual Battle of the Beltways series against the Orioles are earlier and later than usual next year. The two rivals will play two games April 18-19 at Nationals Park and two games Sept. 26-27 at Camden Yards during the Nats’ final road trip of the season.

SEATTLE – Cade Cavalli – and Nationals fans – don’t have to wait any longer. The organization’s top pitching prospect will make his major league debut Friday night.

Manager Davey Martinez made it official today, confirming the 24-year-old right-hander will start Friday’s series opener against the Reds, with a plan to have him continue to pitch every five or six days the rest of the season.

“We’re excited,” Martinez said. “He’s checked a lot of the boxes. With that being said, with all of our young guys, part of the process is patience. We’re going to get him up here and get him going, and see how he does. But he’s done well in Rochester, really well, as the numbers will indicate.”

Cavalli’s season-long numbers at Triple-A (3.71 ERA, 1.175 WHIP, 104 strikeouts in 97 innings) are solid but not spectacular. But over his last 13 starts, he’s been electric (2.10 ERA, 1.019 WHIP, 77 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings), capped off by a 109-pitch outing Saturday against Worcester in which he had seven strikeouts through his first three innings.

In promoting him now, the Nationals have set it up for Cavalli to make his first two starts at home against non-contenders (Friday vs. the Reds, Sept. 1 vs. the Athletics) before the team faces mostly NL East contenders during the season’s final month.

SEATTLE – It feels like the Nationals just got here, but they’re already set for the finale of a two-game series with the Mariners. Tough scheduling, coming all the way out here for 36 hours. They’ll try to at least split the series with a victory today, hoping they can score some runs, especially early, which has been a recurring problem for them.

They’ll take their cracks at Seattle right-hander George Kirby, the 24-year-old who makes his first career start against the Nats. He’s been quite good this summer, allowing 11 total runs over his last seven starts for a 2.63 ERA (though they tend to hold him to fewer than 100 pitches).

Aníbal Sánchez gets the start for the Nationals, still seeking his first win and perhaps pitching for his spot in the rotation as the club prepares to make some more changes. Cade Cavalli, the 2020 first-round draft pick and organizational top prospect, is set to make his major league debut Friday night against the Reds, a source confirmed today. We’ll have more on that shortly, but obviously Cavalli’s arrival will bump somebody out of the rotation, and Sánchez and Paolo Espino would seem to be the most likely options.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
DH Nelson Cruz
C Keibert Ruiz
SS CJ Abrams
LF Lane Thomas
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Victor Robles

The Washington Nationals, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, announced their 2023 schedule on Wednesday. The 19th season of Nationals baseball will commence with an Opening Day matchup at home against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, March 30. Opening Day 2023 will mark the fifth time the Nationals (2005-pres.) have faced the Braves on Opening Day.

The 2023 season will be the first to feature a balanced schedule for all 30 Clubs across Major League Baseball since Interleague Play was introduced in 1997. Each of the 30 Clubs will play against one another, and in addition, each of the 30 Clubs will host every other Club in their home market at least once every other season. Specific features of the new balanced schedule include: 

• Division Games
• 52 total games against divisional opponents (decreased from 76)
• 13 games (four total series) against each divisional opponent (decreased from 19 games across six series), including seven home games and six away games (or vice versa), for a total of 26 home games and 26 away games

• Intraleague Games
• 64 total games (32 home games and 32 away games) against non-divisional league opponents (decreased from 66)
• Clubs will play six games against six league opponents, and seven games against four league opponents (previous format was reversed with six games against four league opponents, and seven games against six league opponents)

• Interleague Games
• 46 total games against interleague opponents (increased from 20)
• Clubs will play a home and home series against their natural rivals (four games total)
• Clubs will play 42 games against other interleague opponents, including seven series (21 games) at home and seven series (21 games) on the road

Washington’s initial homestand will feature three games against the Braves before a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday through Wednesday, April 3-5. The Nationals will host 13 homestands and 14 weekend series during the 2023 season. No homestand will be longer than nine games. Washington’s first road trip will take the team to Colorado, April 6-9, and Los Angeles to face the Angels, April 10-12.

The annual Beltway Series vs. the Baltimore Orioles will renew April 18-19 at Nationals Park, and Washington will travel to Baltimore during the final road trip of the season, Sept. 26-27.

Including their first road trip of the season, the Nationals will make four visits to the West Coast by the end of June. They play at the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants May 5-10; at the Los Angeles Dodgers May 29-31; and at San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners June 23-28.

SEATTLE – You wouldn’t think it based on the historic negative streak they keep extending every night, but the Nationals are getting good pitching out of their rotation right now. Four times in their last five games, Nats starters have gone at least five innings while allowing one or two runs.

And yet this team has now gone 40 consecutive games without seeing one of its starters earn a win, the longest such streak of futility in modern major league history.

Erick Fedde did his part to try to end the run tonight, tossing five strong innings in his return from the injured list, but it mattered not because the Nationals lineup remained lifeless at the plate, getting no-hit for six innings by Robbie Ray, then settling for Joey Meneses’ solo homer before falling 4-2 to the Mariners.

It was yet another woeful showing by the Nats, who have scored four total runs over their last three games, dropping all three despite their pitchers having allowed only eight runs in those games.

"We've got to get our offense going," manager Davey Martinez said. "We've got to put the ball in play a little bit more. We've got to stay in the middle of the field. We've got to get on for our big guys, and they've got to start driving in runs."

SEATTLE – Needing to clear a spot on their pitching staff for returning starter Erick Fedde, the Nationals opted to shift Cory Abbott to the bullpen and designate Tyler Clippard for assignment, likely ending the popular veteran’s second stint with the organization on a sour note.

Clippard could potentially return to Triple-A Rochester if he clears waivers, but manager Davey Martinez suggested the move was made in part to give the 37-year-old more time to catch on with another franchise and finish out the season.

The Nationals’ all-time leader in appearances with 418, Clippard returned to the organization this spring more than seven years after he last pitched for them. A stalwart of their bullpen from 2008-14, he went on to have a long career as one of baseball’s most reliable and durable relievers while pitching for 10 different teams.

The Nats hoped to rekindle some old magic and enjoy a feel-good story when they signed Clippard to a minor league deal in March, but it didn’t come close to working out as hoped. After spending three months performing well at Rochester, he finally was called up in mid-July but made only one appearance before landing on the injured list with a groin strain. He returned healthy two weeks ago but was scored upon in two of his three outings while seeing very little action.

Clippard pitched a scoreless inning during Saturday’s 2-1 loss in San Diego, and that proved to be his final appearance before he was informed of the news today in Seattle.

SEATTLE – The last time the Nationals played here at what’s now known as T-Mobile Park was Aug. 31, 2014. They suffered a 5-3 loss to the Mariners, with Tanner Roark taking the loss and Fernando Rodney recording the save. The only other time the Nats played here prior to that was in June 2008, a series in which Kory Casto hit his only major league home run and Tyler Clippard recorded his first win for the organization, back when he was a starter.

So, yeah, it’s been a while. And sadly, tonight’s return to Seattle also coincides with the end of Clippard’s current stint with the Nationals, and possibly the end of his career. Needing to remove a pitcher from their roster and clear a spot for Erick Fedde, the club decided to designate the 37-year-old Clippard for assignment.

Fedde, who had been on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, starts tonight. And he’ll be working with a new batterymate in Riley Adams, who officially was recalled from Triple-A to take the spot that opened up when Tres Barrera was optioned to Rochester.

Adams will bat seventh against Seattle lefty (and one-time Nationals prospect) Robbie Ray. The rest of Davey Martinez’s lineup includes Alex Call leading off, Joey Meneses batting second, Luke Voit returning from back spasms to bat third and Lane Thomas batting fifth on his 27th birthday. (He’ll have to keep waiting for that first opportunity to bat third in the starting lineup.)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field