WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals are enjoying their first scheduled off-day of spring training since camp got underway almost three weeks ago with pitchers and catchers reporting Feb. 14.

Some players may trickle into the team’s facilities at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, but for the most part, it’s a day to get some rest and relaxation.

This marks the halfway point of my trip down here before Mark Zuckerman returns to have you covered until the end of camp. So here are some notes and observations from my first five days …

* While the Nats got back over .500 in Grapefruit League play with a 1-0 win over the Cardinals yesterday, perhaps the more interesting activity occurred on the back fields on the complex in the morning.

The Nationals played an intrasquad game on Field 2 – the only one of the back fields here to have the exact dimensions as Nationals Park – mostly to allow Zach Davies, Jackson Rutledge, Joan Adon and other pitchers to get in some game-like work following Sunday’s rainout against the Marlins.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – When he threw his first pitch off the mound Monday, Cade Cavalli could have flashed right back to the last time he performed such an act, that horrible day nearly one year ago and about 50 miles up the road in Port St. Lucie when he tried to throw a changeup to Brandon Nimmo and felt his elbow ligament snap in the process.

Instead, Cavalli chose to focus on what this moment – his first bullpen session since Tommy John surgery – meant for him. There was no feeling of regret, only a feeling of achievement and optimism for what he hopes will come in another few months when he finally pitches for the Nationals again.

“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it much,” the right-hander said when asked about the pending anniversary of his injury. “I just want to forget about it and move on. I’ve got a new elbow. It’s a new me. That’s how I’m approaching it. It’s been a great 11 months.”

Cavalli already was something of a “power of positive thinking” guy before any of this happened. The injury only pushed him to embrace that mindset even more as he began the long, slow, often infuriating process of rehabbing from ligament replacement surgery.

“It’s something that happens, and I believe like I said to you guys 11 months ago, it’s how you look at it and how you approach it,” the 2020 first-round pick said. “If you just approach it with a positive mindset – that this is a blessing in this moment, and I believe God is putting me through something to get me stronger to be able to help this club in the long run – that’s what my mindset’s been.”

What was the most unexpected development of the Nationals’ 2023 season? How about the way they managed to keep the vast majority of their roster healthy?

The Nats used only eight starting pitchers, and five of them topped 120 innings. Seven of their regular nine position players avoided the injured list altogether. Four relievers appeared in 50-plus games.

It was a remarkable run of good health for an organization that didn’t exactly boast a lot of depth to account for major losses.

Not that the Nationals completely avoided the IL. Cade Cavalli tore his elbow ligament in March and missed the entire season. Victor Robles hurt his back in May and barely played after that. Stone Garrett broke his leg and injured his ankle on a scary play in August. Riley Adams broke a bone in his wrist in September. Oh yeah, and then there was Stephen Strasburg.

When the team reports for spring training this week, though, optimism will reign throughout the clubhouse. This should be, for the most part, a healthy roster to open camp. But plenty of eyes will be focused on the aforementioned players returning from injury.

PROSPECT REVIEW: CADE CAVALLI

Age on opening day 2024: 25

How acquired: Drafted No. 22 overall in 2020 from University of Oklahoma

Ranking: No. 4 per MLB Pipeline, No. 4 per Baseball America

MLB debut: Aug. 26, 2022

Organizational prospect rankings are by nature ever-changing. Top prospects reach the big leagues and watch their careers take off. New draft picks join the list and leapfrog other established players. Some once-touted prospects lose their steam and disappear off the radar.

But it’s notable how much the Nationals’ prospect rankings have changed in the last two years, growing from one of the least-touted groups in baseball to one that is now turning a whole lot of heads.

And it’s not necessarily all the same names everyone assumed would top the list not that long ago.

Baseball America unveiled its 2024 Top 10 ranking Monday, and while most of the names include on the list come as no surprise, the order they are listed does include a few surprises.

Headlining the group is the newest member of the organization: Dylan Crews. As one would expect, the No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s draft immediately takes over as the No. 1 prospect in the Nationals organization. (He should be a top-10 prospect in the sport once that list is unveiled later this winter.)

If, way back on Opening Day, they knew they would make it through the entire season using only eight starting pitchers, the Nationals would’ve been ecstatic.

Only twice before in club history had so few starters been needed, and each time (2012, 2014) the team won a division title. Surely, this was a sign the 2023 rotation was destined for greatness.

That’s not exactly how it played out. The Nats rotation still ended the year with a 5.02 ERA and 1.501 WHIP, ranking 25th in the majors in each category. The group also finished near the bottom of the sport in walks (27th), strikeouts (25th) and homers (29th).

But while better overall performance certainly would’ve been nice, the mere fact the Nationals rotation proved so durable was significant.

“It was a very healthy year for our pitching staff, which was great,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “It’s a testament to the training staff and the medical staff and to the pitching coaches, and to the way (manager Davey Martinez) handled them.”

It was a slow afternoon in the Nationals clubhouse as they prepared to welcome the division champion Braves for a four-game series, the last home series of the season.

Per usual, manager Davey Martinez provided some injury updates to begin his pregame press conference ahead of a series opener.

Riley Adams, whose season was ended by a fractured left hamate bone, had successful surgery last week and already is on a good path toward recovery.

“Riley Adams still has his stitches in. He's getting them out,” Martinez said. “He's gonna recover fine. He's already itching (to get back). He's working his hand a little bit, so he's doing well.”

Travis Blankenhorn’s season seems to be over as well. Although he was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, retroactive back to Sept. 16, he received an injection to treat his plantar fasciitis that will keep him “out for a while,” per Martinez.

It was only 25 light throws from 45 feet, the kind of mundane activity anyone who has ever picked up a baseball has engaged in countless times. For Cade Cavalli, Tuesday’s activity was anything but mundane.

For the first time since he underwent Tommy John surgery in March, the Nationals’ top pitching prospect played catch. And while this was merely the first of many thresholds still to cross before he returns to a big league mound, the significance was not lost on the right-hander.

“I have been visualizing that moment since pretty much the time I tore (my elbow ligament),” he said. “And now that it’s here, it was very surreal. It felt great. It did feel weird the first couple of throws, trying to find that slot again. But once I found it and felt comfortable in it, it was awesome. I don’t know how else to describe it but awesome. It was a great feeling.”

Cavalli has spent the majority of this season rehabbing at the Nationals’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla. It’s a lonely, tedious experience, especially those first several months that include zero baseball activities.

When the time finally came to let him throw for the first time, the club decided to bring Cavalli to D.C. and have him throw in the outfield prior to batting practice Tuesday afternoon, with assistant athletic trainer Jon Kotredes on the receiving end of the throws.

As the Nationals get ready to begin their last homestand of the 2023 season, the club is also looking at how it is going to handle two pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery before the team breaks for the offseason.

Tanner Rainey, still working his way back from his surgery last year, is running out of time to pitch for the Nats this year. The right-hander had always put August as a target date to return to the major leagues, but with only 12 games left in the season, there might not be enough innings to get him into an actual game. After 12 appearances over the last month while on a minor league rehab assignment, Rainey will throw another bullpen session with the Nats on Tuesday.

“We got Rainey here,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame session with reporters before the Nats open a three-game series against the White Sox. “He's gonna throw a bullpen. We want to put eyes on him and see where he's at.”

Martinez told reporters over the weekend that Rainey has been working on some mechanical things recently while not feeling totally comfortable returning to a big league mound. Regardless of where he does it, the Nationals want Rainey to continue his throwing program over the next two weeks so he can have a normal offseason and be ready for spring training.

But is there a point in the near future where it wouldn’t make sense to activate Rainey off the 60-day injured list just so he can appear in one or two games?

SEATTLE – Lane Thomas made plans a while back to spend his All-Star break at the beach with his wife. He might need to find out if those reservations are refundable, because with each passing day it looks more and more like he’s going to be spending his All-Star break right here in Seattle with the rest of baseball’s best players.

Thomas continues to make a compelling case for himself to represent the Nationals in the All-Star Game, set to be played two weeks from today at T-Mobile Park. What initially looked like a red-hot month at the plate has since turned into a prolonged stretch of success as good as anyone in the sport has produced this season.

With another homer and another RBI double during Monday night’s 8-4 loss to the Mariners, Thomas raised the bar even further. He now has 14 home runs, all of them coming since May 1. He’s now batting .297 with an .860 OPS, and though those numbers may not rank among the league leaders, they’re depressed a bit only because of his slow start to the season.

When Thomas hit his first homer May 1 against the Cubs, he was batting .260 and slugging a paltry .302. He has been nothing short of MVP-like ever since.

In 51 games played since that notable date, Thomas is batting .314 and slugging .614. Extrapolate all of his stats during that stretch over a 162-game season, and his totals would be mind-blowing: 127 runs, 206 hits, 51 doubles, 44 homers, 98 RBIs, 16 steals and a .967 OPS.

MIAMI – Cade Cavalli’s face lit up as he entered the Nationals clubhouse at loanDepot park this morning. It was the first time he was going to be around his teammates since they broke camp in West Palm Beach back in March.

If only for a few days, the young right-hander is leaving the monotony of rehabbing his right elbow at the Nats' spring training facility after Tommy John surgery and join the team for a weekend back in D.C.

Cavalli arrived with a suitcase and equipment bag in tow. He quickly changed out of his street clothes and into his Nationals gear. Though he won’t pitch this year, he was a part of the team again.

“I'm gonna fly with the team tonight to D.C. and spend the weekend there with them,” Cavalli said with the joy clearly across his face. “It'd be great to be able to get back to D.C. and hang around the guys for more than one day. So I'm really excited about it. It's gonna be a great change of scenery for me. And then right back to Florida, and we're getting right back after it.”

It’s only two months into a lengthy rehab process, but Cavalli has made significant strides that have him and the organization optimistic about his recovery and return next year.

In setting their Opening Day roster this morning, the Nationals officially placed six players on the injured list, including Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg (thoracic outlet syndrome), Cade Cavalli (Tommy John surgery), Tanner Rainey (Tommy John surgery) and Victor Arano (right shoulder strain) all were placed on the 60-day IL. Those moves cleared up four spots on the 40-man roster, which went to the four players who made the club off minor-league deals: Chad Kuhl, Michael Chavis, Anthony Banda and Hobie Harris.

Carter Kieboom (right shoulder impingement) and Israel Pineda (right finger fracture) were placed on the 10-day IL, though neither is expected to be ready to return in such little time. Kieboom, who is still coming back from Tommy John surgery last year, has only been able to DH in minor league spring games. Pineda, who was struck by a foul ball in early March, has resumed throwing but was not yet hitting when camp concluded.

Though Strasburg’s inclusion on the 60-day IL was no surprise, the transaction does underscore the right-hander’s current predicament. Unable to throw off a mound without discomfort since making his one and only start last season, he is currently not participating in any baseball activities.

General manager Mike Rizzo said he met in person Wednesday with Strasburg, whose locker remains full of gear even though he was not present at spring training and won’t be at the ballpark for the season opener.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training numbers mean as much or as little as you want them to, but here are the numbers now for MacKenzie Gore through five Grapefruit League starts: 11 earned runs, 21 hits, three homers, six walks, nine strikeouts in 14 innings. That’s a 7.07 ERA and 1.929 WHIP.

Whether it portends real struggles when the season begins in two weeks or not, Gore isn’t satisfied with his own performance to date.

“The line at some point is saying something,” the Nationals left-hander said. “But we’re just going to keep working. I just need to pitch a little better.”

Gore needed to pitch a lot better Friday afternoon during his latest (and worst) outing of the spring. He did not enjoy one clean inning among the four he pitched. He surrendered four runs during a long third inning that required 34 pitches to complete. He served up home runs to the Astros’ Jeremy Peña in consecutive innings. All told, he was charged with five runs on nine hits and two walks, while throwing only 49 of his 82 pitches for strikes.

And, as has become clear over the last several weeks, Gore found plenty of reasons to be upset with himself for another showing that fell below his standards.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Cade Cavalli sat down in Davey Martinez’s office Wednesday evening, with Mike Rizzo also in attendance, and braced for the news from his manager and general manager. What they told him about the MRI taken of his elbow earlier that morning – a full tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, requiring Tommy John surgery – stung like few pieces of news the right-hander has ever received, and it took the Nationals’ 24-year-old pitching prospect a little while to come to grips with it before he was ready to pivot to the challenge now facing him.

“I gave myself a little bit of time to cry and to hurt,” Cavalli said. “But during that meeting with them, it was just like: It is what it is, and it’s time. It was a little flip switch, and I’m ready. I am. I’m ready to rock. I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be better, I promise.”

Speaking with reporters this afternoon, roughly 48 hours since he injured himself throwing a pitch against the Mets and 24 hours since he got the official diagnosis, Cavalli detailed the emotions he’s experienced since and the determination he now has to return healthy in 2024.

Cavalli will fly to Dallas on Monday and undergo ligament replacement surgery Wednesday, performed by renowned orthopedist Keith Meister. He faces a rehab process of at least 12 months, with the possibility he’ll be ready to open the 2024 season on time but the understanding it may take longer than that.

“It’s frustrating for him,” Rizzo said. “He’s a competitor. And he was on the verge of his first major league Opening Day and being a big part of what we’re doing here, and now he’s got to take a step back and rehab, and the isolation and the loneliness that that entails. The strong survive it and come out the other end better for it. I believe he’s one of that group, and I’m looking forward to watching him progress through his rehab and watching him come out the other side of it and really get after it again.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Cade Cavalli will require season-ending Tommy John surgery, a crushing blow to the Nationals and their top pitching prospect two weeks before Opening Day.

An MRI of Cavalli’s right elbow revealed a Grade 3 sprain, which is a complete tear, of the ulnar collateral ligament. Had it been a lesser-grade sprain, it’s possible Cavalli could have avoided surgery and attempted to return sooner via rest and rehab. The complete tear requires surgery to replace the ligament.

“While Cade will not pitch in 2023, he continues to be a very important part of our franchise’s future,” general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement released by the team, “and we look forward to having him back on the mound.”

The Nationals’ first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Cavalli was making his fourth appearance of the spring Tuesday afternoon and looked dominant through his first 2 2/3 innings, allowing only one of the nine Mets batters he faced to reach base. But then he threw an 87 mph changeup to Brandon Nimmo that sailed high and away of the New York leadoff man, began shaking his right arm and paced around the mound, hunching over in pain.

Manager Davey Martinez, head athletic trainer Paul Lessard and catcher Keibert Ruiz converged around Cavalli, and though the pitcher wanted to try to throw a warmup toss, he was told he needed to depart the game alongside Lessard.

JUPITER, Fla. – Though they won’t know results of the MRI on Cade Cavalli’s elbow until later today or Thursday, the Nationals are already making plans to proceed without the rookie right-hander, with a veteran starter in line to take his place for the time being.

“Chad Kuhl, right now, is going to get an opportunity to probably start if Cade can’t do it,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning, before the Nats' game against the Marlins was canceled due to rain.

Kuhl, a 30-year-old right-hander in camp on a minor league deal, has made one Grapefruit League start this spring, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings March 5 against the Tigers. He’s also made three relief appearances, including a three-inning stint Monday against the Astros.

A veteran of six big league seasons, the first five of which came with the Pirates, Kuhl owns a career 31-41 record, 4.74 ERA and 1.451 WHIP. He missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned healthy in 2020. The Delaware native joined the Rockies last year and made 27 starts, going 6-11 with a 5.72 ERA that was more than a run higher than his career mark to that point.

The final numbers don’t tell the full story of Kuhl’s 2022 season. Through his first 10 starts, he was 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA. Then over his final 17 starts – with a brief stint on the injured list due to a strained hip flexor – he was 2-9 with a 7.37 ERA, inflating his season totals.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – For 43 minutes Tuesday afternoon, the Nationals watched Cade Cavalli mow down the Mets and allowed themselves to dream a bit. The organization’s top pitching prospect was as electric as he’s been all spring, maybe the best he’s looked anytime he’s worn a major league uniform.

With an upper-90s fastball, two different types of sharp breaking balls and an occasional changeup, the 24-year-old right-hander looked every bit the part of a future ace, one of the cornerstones of the organization’s rebuilding efforts.

“The thing is, you saw what he can possibly be,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But we’ve got to get him healthy.”

Martinez said this a few minutes after the Nationals’ 5-0 exhibition victory was over, roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes after Cavalli threw an 87-mph changeup in the bottom of the third that landed way off target and left him shaking his right arm in discomfort.

All the positive vibes from those first 43 minutes went up in flames as club officials watched the young hurler’s reaction to that pitch and feared the worst. Cavalli is set to undergo an MRI today on his right elbow, and it may take a day or two and multiple views by multiple doctors before a final diagnosis is revealed. But make no mistake: The Nationals are worried he tore his ulnar collateral ligament, which would require season-ending Tommy John surgery.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The first 42 pitches of Cade Cavalli’s afternoon were some of the best he’s thrown this spring. The rookie right-hander was pumping out 97 mph fastballs and mixing in curveballs, sliders and a couple of changeups, retiring eight of the first nine Mets hitter he faced and surrendering zero hard contact.

"I think that's the best I've seen him since I've known him," catcher Keibert Ruiz remarked.

And then Cavalli threw his 43rd pitch of the afternoon, an 87-mph changeup that veered way high and away from left-handed batter Brandon Nimmo, and "felt something behind his throwing elbow," according to manager Davey Martinez, who made his way from the dugout alongside head athletic trainer Paul Lessard to have the kind of conversation no pitcher ever wants to have in that moment.

Cavalli, who was not made available to reporters, would depart the game a few moments later with Lessard by his side, a look of dejection on his face.

It may be awhile until official word comes down on Cavalli's status - he's scheduled to have an MRI on his elbow Wednesday, with results perhaps to be read by multiple doctors - but it's not inappropriate to fear the organization’s top pitching prospect suffered a significant injury a little more than two weeks away from Opening Day, perhaps tearing his elbow ligament.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – After a stretch of five straight games played in Palm Beach County, the Nationals hit the road for a bit of a longer drive today. Not that 45 minutes up I-95 is that bad, but it’s actually the only trip they’ve got left that will be longer than 15 minutes.

Cade Cavalli gets the start, and it would be nice to see the rookie have some success over multiple innings, even if he’s not facing the entire Mets’ A lineup today. Cavalli should be able to complete four innings, provided he keeps his pitch count in check. At this point, he’s scheduled to be the No. 5 starter when the season begins, so the time has come for him to step up and get himself into regular season mode.

Keibert Ruiz is leading off for the second straight day, an attempt to get some extra at-bats without having to catch too many innings and also perhaps see more pitches. (Though of course he swung at the first pitch Monday afternoon and grounded out to third, not exactly what Davey Martinez had in mind.)

Victor Robles returns to the lineup after missing five days with a bruised left knee. The center fielder was able to fully participate in drills Monday with no issues, so he should be good to go and get three at-bats today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Clover Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB Network, MLB.tv (Mets broadcast)
Radio: None
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 12 mph in from left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ask Cade Cavalli what he liked about his start tonight against an Israel club prepping for the World Baseball Classic and the young Nationals right-hander sighs and has to think about it for a moment.

“I got some outs,” he said. “Kept it to just one run. Just tried to minimize damage whenever I put myself into that little jam.”

That little jam came in the top of the second, when the Israelis strung together three singles to bring home their lone run in three innings against Cavalli. His start, headlined by six strikeouts, was otherwise quite solid. But he couldn’t deem it a full-blown success because of that one sequence in the second that led to the run.

Cavalli at times overwhelmed a lineup composed mostly of minor leaguers. But he got into trouble when he allowed back-to-back, one-out singles in the second. He proceeded to strike out Ty Kelly with a 97-mph fastball, then had Noah Mendlinger down 0-2 with a chance to get out of the inning unscathed, only to surrender a two-out, RBI single to the No. 9 hitter to give Israel its first run en route to a 9-0 shutout victory.

“I wanted to elevate it, and I just left it middle,” Cavalli said of the fastball Mendlinger hit to right for the RBI knock. “I made the mistake and paid for it. Gotta get it up.”