Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Stars, Could Not Agree to Deal With Cade Cavalli

Only Cade Cavalli could not come to terms with the Washington Nationals to avoid arbitration.

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Back in November, the Washington Nationals decided to tender contracts to all seven of their arbitration-eligible players, which was a surprise to many.

There was a thought that new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office would try to put a stamp on this franchise by letting some players become free agents. But that was not the case, as they opted to keep everyone around. However, with the arbitration deadline looming on Jan. 8, it was up to this regime to either come to terms with those players or go to arbitration.

The Nationals agreed to a one-year, $1.35 million contract with right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray to avoid arbitration in mid-December. But they took it down to deadline day with the likes of CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Luis Garcia Jr. and Cade Cavalli.

Nationals Get Deals Done With Abrams, Gore, Irvin and Garcia

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Early on, Washington got a deal done with Abrams. According to Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, the figure that was agreed to was a one-year, $4.2 million contract. That was then followed up by Gore and the team agreeing to a one-year, $5.6 million deal, as was first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided.

Golden later reported that Irvin worked out one-year, $2.8 million contract to avoid arbitration. And the Nationals' communications social media page then announced they agreed to a one-year deal with Garcia, although the financial terms were not revealed.

The Nationals have avoided salary arbitration and agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Luis Garcia Jr.

— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) January 8, 2026

With the 8 p.m. ET deadline looming, that left just Cavalli as the lone arbitration-eligible player who had not agreed to a new deal with the team. He is projected to have a major role for Washington in 2026 after returning to the big league mound last season following a lengthy injury recovery, so the fact that nothing had been finalized was notable.

And after coming to terms with Abrams, Gore, Irvin and Garcia on deadline day, the Nationals and Cavalli could not agree to a salary figure for the 2026 campaign. That means both parties will exchange numbers and let a three-person panel choose the final salary number after a hearing.

Cade Cavalli and the Nationals have not come to an arbitration agreement, per a source. He’s the only arb-eligible player Washington did not come to an agreement with.

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) January 9, 2026

This ultimately doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things for Washington. Because they already tendered Cavalli a contract, he'll be playing for them in 2026 regardless. But what both parties couldn't agree to was the amount of money he would be paid for the year.

It will be interesting to see the final salary figure the panel decides on when that time comes. Since Cavalli is coming back from injury and doesn't have a ton of production to point to, it shouldn't be too surprising that he is the only arbitration-eligible player who couldn't come to terms with the team.

But overall, this was a successful first arbitration process for Toboni and his front office, as the Nationals were able to lock up six of their seven players with contracts before going to arbitration.