Nationals Former Top Prospect Making Encouraging Progress in Injury Rehab
The talk around the Washington Nationals on Wednesday was about the performance rookie pitcher Brad Lord had the night before.
In need of someone to step into the starting rotation in place of the injured Michael Soroka, manager Dave Martinez turned to the youngster who was a surprise addition to the Opening Day roster after he had a strong spring training.
He made the most of his opportunity, throwing three shutout innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While no decision has been made about who will take that turn in the rotation on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, as long as Lord isn’t overworked during the weekend series against the Miami Marlins, the start should be his.
He isn’t the only young Nationals pitcher making waves on Wednesday, either.
The team also provided an encouraging update on the status of the rehabbing Cade Cavalli.
The former top prospect was able to get two innings of work in during the afternoon in West Palm Beach, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN.
Working his way back from Tommy John surgery that he underwent two years ago, the talented right-handed pitcher is currently on Washington’s 15-day injured list.
During the session, he was able to throw 35 pitches, and his fastball velocity sat between 94-97 mph.
Cavalli is nearing the next step in the process, as he is going to go through his own version of a spring training ramp-up period. Shortly after that, he will be making minor league rehab starts with an eye toward making it back to the Major League roster.
If everything goes according to play, he could make his return to the Nationals sometime this summer.
It would be interesting to see what kind of role he would assume with the team given the restrictions that will likely be placed on him. There will certainly be an innings limit this year since he has been sidelined for so long.
Cavalli last appeared in a Major League game on Aug. 26, 2022, which also happened to be his MLB debut. He missed the entirety of the 2023 campaign but was able to get on the mound for three appearances and 8.1 innings near the end of the 2024 season.
Prior to the injury, he was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the game.
Ranked as high as No. 19 by Baseball Prospectus, he was on some top 100 lists as recently as last year and still maintains rookie status.
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