Cade Cavalli has been shut down again after experiencing a recurrence of shoulder discomfort in his first throwing session since landing on the injured list three weeks ago, though both the Nationals and the rookie right-hander say they’re confident he’s not dealing with anything more serious than inflammation.

Cavalli had just completed a two-week shutdown period following his shaky Aug. 26 major league debut and was cleared to resume throwing Wednesday. But his session, in which he was going to be restricted to 60 feet on flat ground, had to be cut short when he reported more shoulder soreness.

The Nationals gave Cavalli a cortisone shot and instructed him to shut down for another three to seven days before he attempts to throw again.

“It was a little painful, but we got it all worked out,” the 24-year-old said. “And here in a couple days, I should be back out there throwing again after letting it calm down. I’m very encouraged. I think it’s going to be very good.”

Though the team insists Cavalli continues to deal with only shoulder inflammation and nothing more serious, the fact he was unable to make it through his first throwing session in two weeks has to concern club officials.

About an hour north up I-295, a rival organization provides a blueprint for the Nationals and their rebuild.

A few years ago, the Orioles began the process of rebuilding their own organization. Now they are starting to turn the tide into contention, finding themselves unexpectedly four games out of an American League wild card berth.

That path back to contention is a similar one the Nationals want to follow now that they have fully embraced their own rebuild. And perhaps reach that turning point sooner.

This week’s two-game series against the Orioles was a good chance for the Nats to measure their young players against some of the best prospects in baseball.

Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and DL Hall were all at one time ranked in multiple publications’ top 100 prospects lists. They also headlined an Orioles farm system that has been one of if not the best in the sport since executive vice president and general manager MIke Elias took over in 2018.

The Nationals received good news on two of their top pitching prospects this afternoon that involved both of them throwing a baseball in different ways.

After having been shut down for two weeks with right shoulder inflammation, Cade Cavalli was cleared to pick up a ball and resume throwing by team doctors and the medical staff.

His follow-up exam yesterday revealed that he was healthy enough to play a game of catch today at Nationals Park.

“Very good. He's actually playing catch as we speak,” manager Davey Martinez said of Cavalli’s follow-up exam and resumption of throwing. “It went really well. Inflammation’s gone. He said he feels great. Doctor evaluated him. Our medical staff put him through the gamut yesterday and today, so he's out there playing catch. So we'll see how he feels. This is great news for us. But with that being said, we still got quite a bit of ways (to go). But it's nice to see him out there throwing again.”

Cavalli was shut down after reporting unusual soreness in his right shoulder after his Aug. 26 major league debut. It was alarming news for the Nats after their top pitching prospect had finally earned the opportunity to debut in the bigs. At the time, the belief was that Cavalli would be done for the year out of extreme precaution and with only a month left in the season.

Luis García has excelled at his new position in the field. How will he handle a new position in the Nationals lineup?

García finds himself batting cleanup tonight for the first time in his career, penciled in by manager Davey Martinez as his No. 4 hitter for the Nats’ series opener against the Orioles.

It’s both a reflection of García's performance at the plate and the state of the rest of the lineup, which has seen Nelson Cruz struggle mightily and get bumped out of the cleanup spot, plus Keibert Ruiz land on the injured list likely for the remainder of the season.

“I wanted to try to break up our lineup with some of those righties and get him in there,” Martinez said. “He matches up well with (Orioles starter Dean Kremer) in there today. I thought we’ll give it a shot, see how he reacts to it. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard. I like the way he’s swinging the bat. So we’re going to put him at cleanup and see how he does.”

García has enjoyed a sustained stretch of success at the plate, batting .312 with four doubles, two homers, nine RBIs and an .809 OPS over his last 14 games. That coincides with his return from a minor groin strain and his move from shortstop to second base following CJ Abrams’ arrival from the Padres.

PHILADELPHIA – Some news and notes before the Nationals take on the Phillies in the second game of this weekend’s series at Citizens Bank Park …

* MacKenzie Gore is set to make a rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Rochester at Syracuse, his first game action since his acquisition from the Padres at the trade deadline.

Gore, who has been on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, is scheduled to throw three innings for the Red Wings, perhaps building up his pitch count to 45.

The Nationals are attempting to build Gore up enough to come off the IL before season’s end. Manager Davey Martinez said they’d ideally like for him to get up to five innings and 75 pitches, so that would suggest three minor league rehab starts and then at most two starts for the Nats in the season’s final days.

“The most exciting thing is that he’s throwing off the mound again. The ball’s coming out, and he looks like he’s good,” Martinez said. “Now it’s just a matter of facing hitters. We saw him do that a little bit, but now he gets to compete. I’m looking forward to watching him do that. My big thing is to make sure that when he leaves here this year, he’s healthy and he can go into the winter. And then we’ll build him up and get him ready for spring training.”

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Not too long ago, Jackson Rutledge was the Nationals’ No. 1 overall prospect. A lot of promise surrounded the big first-round pick out of San Jacinto Junior College in Texas.

He made 10 starts in his first professional season, pitching to a 2-0 record, 3.13 ERA and 0.991 WHIP between rookie ball and Single-A during 2019.

Then, of course, he, like all minor leaguers, missed out during the pandemic-canceled 2020 season.

Coming into last year, Rutledge was joined by 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli as the Nationals’ top two prospects.

But while Cavalli quickly rose through the ranks, ultimately reaching Triple-A, Rutledge was hampered by injuries and left behind in A ball.

Cade Cavalli officially was placed on the 15-day injured list this afternoon with right shoulder inflammation, an ailment the Nationals rookie insisted he intends to return from before season’s end.

“I’m not going to be shutting it down completely,” he said. “We’ve got something to work forward to. There’s still some season left. That’s where my head’s at. I want to go compete again this year for this club. I’m very positive, and I think it’s really good.”

Cavalli said he woke up Saturday morning feeling “some abnormal soreness” following his major league debut the previous night. He attempted to play catch that afternoon as planned, but after about 10 throws with no improvement in his condition he informed the training staff what was going on. He underwent an MRI on Sunday which revealed inflammation of his shoulder capsule, but no damage to his rotator cuff or labrum.

Manager Davey Martinez said the 24-year-old right-hander will be shut down for two weeks, after which the club will decide how to proceed. Cavalli is cleared to do everything but throw during this period of time, and he went through rigorous workouts focused on his legs and his back the last two days.

Even in a best-case scenario, there doesn’t seem to be much time for Cavalli to make it back to start before the season ends five weeks from today. But Martinez wants him to stay busy and proceed with a mindset that he will pitch by then, and Cavalli himself is adamant that’s what he intends to do, not shut down until 2023.

Tuesday’s news about Cade Cavalli, who is going on the injured list and could be done for the season with right shoulder inflammation, was incredibly discouraging for the Nationals.

Now here’s an even more discouraging thought: What if Cavalli’s injury prompts the team to shut down MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray before season’s end as well?

That’s certainly on the table, when you consider what Davey Martinez said when asked if the Cavalli situation might make the club more cautious about handling its two other young starters the rest of the way.

“Yeah, we’re going to look at all that stuff,” he said, later adding: “We’re going to spend the next few weeks just watching these guys, watching them progress, and see where we’re at.”

There are concerns about all three of them, for varying reasons.

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.

Cade Cavalli will make his next start for the Nationals on Thursday afternoon, giving the organization’s top pitching prospect two home outings to begin his career before he makes his road debut.

Cavalli is slated to start the finale of a three-game series against the Athletics, with Erick Fedde and Aníbal Sánchez pitching Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively.

The 24-year-old right-hander made his major league debut Friday against the Reds, struggling with grip issues on a hot and muggy D.C. evening en route to seven runs allowed over 4 1/3 innings and 99 pitches. He’ll now get a chance to face another rebuilding club in the A’s, who currently own the second-worst record in baseball (ahead of only the Nationals).

Cavalli will be pitching on five days’ rest, just as he did most of the time this season at Triple-A Rochester. The Nationals are going to attempt to continue giving him an extra day of rest as much as possible over the season’s final month, taking advantage of scheduled off-days of their schedule for both Cavalli and Josiah Gray.

“Between him and JoJo, we’re definitely going to try to keep those guys limited a little bit in the next month,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But we definitely want to see him pitch up here. So he’ll pitch Thursday, and then we’ll have some days off coming up. We’ll see how we’re going to work those two guys. We might give them a couple extra days in between.”

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 day has come, and not a moment too soon for a Nationals organization (and fan base) that desperately needs something to get excited about. Cade Cavalli makes his major league debut tonight, which makes this the most prominent debut for a Nats starting pitcher since Lucas Giolito in 2016.

What can we expect from Cavalli against a Reds lineup that doesn’t feature a lot of prominent names? Probably a good number of strikeouts. Possibly more than a couple walks as well, unless he can get them to chase out of the zone. Watch his pitch count, as well, because he does tend to pile up those numbers, which could prevent him from going more than five innings (if that) tonight.

The two best things the Nationals can do to help out Cavalli: Play good defense behind him, and score some runs off Reds left-hander Mike Minor (who enters with a 2-10 record and 6.44 ERA). CJ Abrams at shortstop should help in that regard. And Luis García is officially back from a groin injury, a welcome return for the club.

CINCINNATI REDS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 83 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

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

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.

The Nationals waited 4 1/2 months for Cade Cavalli to arrive from Triple-A and finally provide a much-needed big arm to a rotation that has struggled all year long.

Now that the hard-throwing right-hander is on his way to D.C. to make his highly anticipated major league debut, here’s the irony: The Nats rotation is currently in the middle of its best stretch of the season.

During their just-completed, six-game road trip to San Diego and Seattle, Nationals starters more than held their own against a couple of playoff contenders. They collectively posted a 2.79 ERA, holding opponents to nine total runs across 29 innings. Go back over their last 14 games, and that ERA is still a respectable 3.91 (nearly two runs better than the group’s worst-in-the-majors 5.89 mark for the entire season).

There’s been so much improvement, the Nats could afford to demote Cory Abbott (who allowed two runs over six innings in his most recent start), first to the bullpen and then to Triple-A following Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Mariners. And they might also end up moving Paolo Espino to the bullpen after he starts Saturday, no matter the result, because they’ll have five other starters with Cavalli joining the mix.

Combine that kind of competent work from the rotation with the continued strong performance of the bullpen (2.02 ERA since Aug. 13) and you get the best sustained period of pitching the Nationals have had all year.

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

Way back in early June, when the Nationals were languishing with the worst rotation in baseball, we wondered if the day might be coming soon when they would have a whole new set of starters pitching for them, guys who not only would be more effective than the current group but also would be younger and part of the organization’s long-term plan.

Here we are entering the final week of August, and unfortunately that hasn’t been the case at all. The Nats’ last five games have been started by Cory Abbott, Anibal Sanchez, Paolo Espino, Josiah Gray and Patrick Corbin.

Yes, they’ve been far more effective than they were nearly three months ago. But outside of Gray, nobody else from this quintet realistically is going to be part of the long-term plan around here. Even Erick Fedde, set to return from a shoulder injury Tuesday in Seattle, remains a shorter-term solution, something of a bridge starter until younger, more promising prospects arrive.

But when will they actually arrive? Will we actually see anybody new and intriguing before season’s end?

By all accounts, yes. It’s going to require a little more patience, though.

It’s a question that is being asked a lot nowadays. It might be the most popular question surrounding the Nationals now that the trade deadline has passed, CJ Abrams has made his debut, MacKenzie Gore’s rehab plan has come more into focus and we’re in the home stretch of the season.

When will top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli make his major league debut?

The Nationals have been very open about taking a cautious approach with their former first-round pick, not wanting to rush a young pitcher who was a two-way player in college and is only in his second full professional season.

“You also have to remember, he did have a great college career, but he didn’t pitch much,” general manager Mike Rizzo said of Cavalli on Wednesday during his weekly appearance with “The Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan. “He was a two-way player. He’s really new to pitching. And he’s really learned fast and on the run. When you talk about a guy who had a limited amount of innings in high school and college that he has, he made a meteoric rise through the minor league rankings. And I think he’s just scratching the surface. He’s going to be a good big league pitcher for us. I’m excited to see him when he gets here. And when the reports are that he’s ready to come to the big leagues, we certainly will not hesitate to bring him here.”

So maybe the question should be: When the reports say Cavalli’s ready, what will that look like?