Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Sharp in first rehab start

Cavalli (elbow) struck out five and allowed one hit and one walk in 2.2 scoreless innings Monday in a rehab start for the Nationals' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.

Seeing his first game action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2023, Cavalli simply overmatched FCL hitters over 44 pitches. The 25-year-old right-hander touched 97 miles per hour with his fastball, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com, and the one hit off him came from MLB veteran Jose Abreu. Washington will now have 30 days to decide whether Cavalli is ready to join the big-league rotation in mid-June, but if the front office decided he needs more time to complete his recovery, he could be optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Either way, Cavalli should be back on the 26-man roster at some point this summer.