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. – The Nationals made another round of cuts this morning, sending six players down to leave 37 healthy players in big league camp with 12 days to go before the team heads north.

Four pitchers were optioned to Triple-A Rochester (right-handers Cory Abbott, Jake Irvin and Jordan Weems, left-hander Matt Cronin), one pitcher was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg (right-hander Jackson Rutledge) and one player (catcher Drew Millas) was reassigned to minor league camp.

Abbott and Irvin will open the season in Rochester’s rotation, according to manager Davey Martinez, and there’s ample reason to believe both will get a chance to start for the Nationals at some point this season. Abbott, 27, started nine games and made seven relief appearances in the majors last year, going 0-5 with a 5.65 ERA and 1.438 WHIP. Irvin, 26, will be pitching at Triple-A for the first time after producing a 3.83 ERA and 1.142 WHIP in 24 combined starts at Single-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg in 2022.

Rutledge, 23, will be making his Double-A debut after going 8-6 with a 4.90 ERA and 1.387 WHIP in 20 starts for low Single-A Fredericksburg last season. Though he’s skipping high Single-A, the Nationals believe the 2019 first round pick is ready.

“He’s matured a lot,” Martinez said. “His control of the fastball is a lot better. Secondary pitches are a lot better. I think the bump to Double-A will be good for him. He needs to start getting challenged a little bit, but I saw a really big improvement this spring with his command, his ability to throw strikes. Why not? Let’s push these guys a little bit.”

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. – The bulletin board inside the Nationals’ clubhouse had the usual sheets of paper on display Monday morning. The lineup card for the upcoming game against the Astros. A schedule for morning workouts, broken down by position groups.

Not that anyone’s eye was drawn to any of that at first glance. Not when the photo was right there alongside everything else.

The photo was unmistakable. It was Joey Meneses, being interviewed by MLB Network, talking about the two home runs he launched to lead Mexico to a resounding victory over the United States in the World Baseball Classic, wearing a giant sombrero.

Some 2,300 miles from Chase Field, back at Nationals spring training, Meneses was first and foremost on everybody’s minds. And the Nats weren’t alone. Meneses was on the mind of the entire baseball world.

“I got all these text messages this morning, with just his name on it: Joey!” manager Davey Martinez said. “It was pretty cool.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – At an earlier point in his career, Trevor Williams might have viewed the top of the third this afternoon at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in a much different light. The Astros had just scored three runs off him, one via homer but the rest via groundball singles in which Nationals infielders were unable to make the plays necessary to record three outs.

That left Williams with the kind of unsightly final line – three earned runs, seven hits in 4 2/3 innings – that would’ve bothered him in the past. At this stage of his career, with a two-year contract and a secured spot in the Nats’ Opening Day rotation, he understood the process of that inning (a bunch of ground balls) mattered more than the results.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I executed the pitches I wanted to execute. … Results are results. Thankfully, I have a spot on the team, so I don’t have to necessarily read too much into results. It’s more making sure I’m ready to go once the season starts.”

Williams believes he took an important step toward that ultimate goal this afternoon when he became the first member of the Nationals rotation this spring to reach the fifth inning. He did so despite an elevated pitch count that stood at 60 after the third, retiring the last five Astros batters he faced on a mere 14 pitches.

It was a strong finish to what briefly looked like a rough outing, even if it wasn’t all Williams’ fault. He did serve up a leadoff homer to Houston minor leaguer Grae Kessinger to open the third, but then induced six consecutive ground balls, the first four of which did not result in any outs, the fifth of which resulted in only one out, the last of which finally resulted in an inning-ending double play.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There are added responsibilities that come with a $50 million contract extension, and Keibert Ruiz knows what awaits him now that he has committed to the Nationals for at least eight more years.

But do those responsibilities include becoming a leadoff hitter?

No, despite what Davey Martinez’s lineup card looks like today.

Ruiz is indeed batting first for the Nats’ exhibition game against the Astros, but it’s not something anyone should expect to see in the regular season.

The simple answer is that Martinez wants to make sure Ruiz gets a chance to take as many at-bats as possible while catching the fewest number of innings possible before departing for the day.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s been a beautiful spring here from a weather standpoint, warm with abundant sunshine every day for the last month. That may finally change today, with a line of storms supposed to sweep through the state of Florida later this afternoon. We’ll see if it impacts the Nationals’ game against the Astros. Might be a good day to really take advantage of that pitch clock.

Trevor Williams gets the ball for his third start of the spring. The right-hander has yet to allow a run in three innings to date; he also has yet to issue a walk. We’ll see how he handles an Astros lineup that doesn’t exactly have the big names in there today.

Houston does have a big-name pitcher on the mound in Framber Valdez, so this will be a nice challenge for a Nats lineup that has an unfamiliar face in the No. 1 spot: Keibert Ruiz. Don’t worry, Davey Martinez isn’t suddenly thinking about making his $50 million catcher a leadoff man. It’s just a way to get him an extra at-bat without having to catch too many innings on a hot, muggy afternoon.

James Wood gets another chance to start a big league game, batting ninth and playing center field. Fellow prospect Elijah Green is slated to replace him later on.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Astros broadcast)
Weather: Chance of storms late, 87 degrees, wind 17 mph out to center field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ildemaro Vargas walks into the clubhouse, wide smile on his face, and offers the same, one-word declaration to anyone within shouting vicinity.

“¡Campeón!”

It matters not if the Nationals won or lost the previous night, if the team is in contention or rebuilding, if it’s 8 a.m. prior to a day game or 4 p.m. prior to a night game. Vargas wants everyone to know what he thinks of them.

“Playing at this level, and knowing all sides of the business, it’s very hard to stay yourself and keep yourself up here at this level,” the utility infielder said last week, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “So to me, just the fact these guys are here and playing at this level, we’re all champions. That why I say it to everybody.”

Vargas has been doing this practically since the day he joined the Nats last summer. A 31-year-old journeyman who had spent the previous five seasons bouncing from the Diamondbacks to the Twins to the Cubs to the Pirates back to the Diamondbacks and back to the Cubs, he walked into Nationals Park as if he had as much organizational tenure as Ryan Zimmerman.

JUPITER, Fla. – MacKenzie Gore walked around the mound during the bottom of the second at Roger Dean Stadium with little reason to be excited about the way this start was going. Five of the first eight Cardinals batters he faced in today’s exhibition had reached base, three via extra-base hit, with all kinds of loud contact off him.

On the heels of another disappointing spring outing in this same ballpark, this was shaping up to be a particularly frustrating afternoon for the Nationals left-hander.

By the time he walked off the mound at the end of the fourth inning, Gore’s mood had dramatically changed. After retiring eight of the last nine batters he faced, there was at last reason to be encouraged by the manner in which he salvaged this start.

“In the past, I’ve let games like that balloon into six, eight runs. So that was good,” he said. “We came back, and the last two innings were much better than the first two.”

Not that this was an overwhelmingly positive day for Gore, or for the Nationals, who lost 5-1 to a St. Louis team with 17 absent players right now because of the World Baseball Classic. Only two of the nine Cardinals batters who faced Gore today are likely to make the Opening Day roster: backup catcher Andrew Knizner and outfielder Alec Burleson.

JUPITER, Fla. – Alex Call probably reported to spring training with a bit of a leg up for a spot on the Nationals’ bench, based if nothing else on the six weeks he spent with them to close out the 2022 season. The Nats liked his ability to play all three outfield positions and were impressed with the surprising pop he displayed (a .441 slugging percentage) in 115 plate appearances.

That Call has proceeded to perform well this spring has only bolstered his case to make the Opening Day roster. He enters today’s game against the Cardinals with a robust .417 batting average (10-for-24), four doubles and two stolen bases in Grapefruit League play.

“He’s staying on the ball really well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “What I like about Alex right now: He’s on time. His swing looks really easy, really smooth. But he’s getting himself on time every pitch, and I love that.”

Call ostensibly entered camp in competition with two newcomers, Stone Garrett and Derek Hill, for the fourth outfielder’s job. Hill pulled his hamstring earlier this month and will likely open the season on the injured list. Garrett showed off his power stroke Friday night when he launched his first homer of the spring, but overall he’s 5-for-23 with eight strikeouts.

Call, meanwhile, has done just about everything in his power to make the decision an easy one. He added to the ledger Saturday night with two hits, a walk and a run scored in the Nationals’ 10-7 win over the Mets.

JUPITER, Fla. – A very pleasant Sunday morning to you, wherever you may be. Hope you remembered to adjust your clocks last night. The Nationals certainly wish that wasn’t necessary after playing a 3-hour night game, then losing an hour of sleep before a 1:05 p.m. game on tap today. Brilliant scheduling there.

Davey Martinez let the boys report later than usual this morning, so hopefully everyone’s well rested. MacKenzie Gore should be just fine, because he didn’t have to stick around for the entire game last night in advance of his start. The left-hander takes the mound for the fourth time this spring, the third time at Roger Dean Stadium, the second time to face the Cardinals. He wasn’t thrilled with his last outing, when he allowed two runs (one earned) over three innings. He’ll try to make some improvements today and extend to four innings.

Gore won’t be facing a whole lot of familiar names this afternoon, with the Cardinals sending a bunch of backups and prospects out there. They will, however, have a veteran on the mound in Steven Matz, so we’ll see how the Nats handle him.

You can listen to Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler with the radio call of the game on 106.7 FM. Or if you’re an MLB.tv subscriber, you can watch the Cardinals’ television broadcast live. Or you can wait until 10 p.m. EDT and watch the replay on MLB Network.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB.tv (Cardinals broadcast), MLB Network (delayed at 10 p.m.)
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 84 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Few within the Nationals clubhouse have known Keibert Ruiz longer than Josiah Gray, the two having come up together in the Dodgers’ farm system before their lives were forever changed when they were the centerpiece prospects acquired for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.

So when Ruiz officially signed an eight-year, $50 million extension Saturday, Gray couldn’t help but feel something special for his teammate and friend.

“It was awesome,” the right-hander said. “Keib deserves it. We all see how hard he’s worked, how good he is with you guys in the media, how good he is with us in the clubhouse. Really happy for him. He’s all-deserving, and I’m really excited to throw to him for years and years.”

Ruiz is now under contract through at least the 2030 season, with club options for 2031 and 2032 tacked onto the deal beyond that. Gray, with 1 1/2 years of big league service time, is under team control through 2027 unless he agrees to an extension as well someday.

Regardless, they’re going to be working together as a battery for a while, two of the key faces of the Nationals’ rebuild.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Keibert Ruiz reported for his second spring training with the Nationals early last month, focused on making significant improvements to his game both at and behind the plate. The thought of leaving town at the end of camp with an eight-year, $50 million extension never crossed his mind.

And what was his first reaction upon getting the offer from the team?

“My first? I said yes right away!” Ruiz said this afternoon as everyone who assembled for a press conference at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches laughed. “But we waited a little bit.”

Whether he said it right away or days later, the fact Ruiz said yes at all made this one of the most significant moments in Nationals history. After years spent trying to convince young star players to agree to extensions, this 24-year-old catcher became the first to actually commit to the organization long-term at such an early stage of his career.

Ruiz, who wouldn’t have been eligible for arbitration until 2025 or free agency until 2028, now knows he’s going to be a National through at least the 2030 season. And he could be here even longer than that, because the new contract includes club options for both 2031 and 2032.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s a big day here at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. At least, big by spring training standards. The Nationals are set to hold a 3 p.m. press conference to announce their eight-year, $50 million extension with Keibert Ruiz (which, by the way, also includes club options for both 2031 and 2032). Then they’re set to take the field at 7:05 p.m. to face the Mets, live on MASN.

Ruiz will have the honor of batting cleanup tonight, and he and his teammates will be facing Kodai Senga for the first time. Senga, a 30-year-old right-hander from Japan, signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets this winter and will be slotted into a rotation that includes a couple of future Hall of Famers in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. This is only Senga’s second start of the spring; he allowed one run to the Cardinals in two innings on Sunday.

(UPDATE: Well, so much for that. The Mets announced Senga has been scratched from the start due to "discomfort at the base of his right index finger." John Curtiss will now start tonight's game in his place.)

Josiah Gray gets the ball for the Nats for his third start of the spring, his second against the Mets. The right-hander is slated to go four innings.

As stated, you can watch tonight’s game live on MASN, with Bob Carpenter and Dan Kolko on the call. They’ll have interviews with a host of big names (Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez, Ruiz), plus one very small name (yours truly). Coverage begins at 7 p.m.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals will announce an eight-year, $50 million extension with Keibert Ruiz on Saturday afternoon, a source familiar with the terms confirmed this evening, a move that not only locks up the young franchise catcher but represents the first financial commitment of this type by ownership since it began exploring the possibility of selling the club one year ago.

The deal, which was first reported by Wow Deportes, locks Ruiz up long before he would’ve become a free agent. He was under club control five more seasons, so this buys out those years plus three years of free agency, keeping him in Washington through at least 2030.

It’s the first time the Nationals have been able to convince a young player to sign an extension of this type since Gio González agreed to a five-year, $42 million deal immediately after he was acquired from the Athletics via trade in December 2011. The only other player in club history to sign a comparable extension was Ryan Zimmerman, who signed a five-year, $45 million deal in April 2009.

Both González and Zimmerman were already arbitration-eligible at the times of their respective extensions. Ruiz is the first player in Nationals history to agree to this type of deal before reaching arbitration.

One of the two centerpieces (along with right-hander Josiah Gray) of the blockbuster July 2021 trade that sent franchise icons Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, Ruiz impressed in his first full major league season, batting .251 with 22 doubles, seven homers and a .673 OPS while throwing out 22 baserunners, second-most among all MLB catchers.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals made their second round of spring cuts this afternoon, removing four position players from big league camp and bringing a bit more clarity to their options for the final two spots on their Opening Day bench.

Two of the four players cut are on the organization’s 40-man roster and were optioned to the minors: infielder Jake Alu (Triple-A Rochester) and outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa (Double-A Harrisburg). The other two were re-assigned to minor league camp: outfielders Yadiel Hernandez and Travis Blankenhorn.

Alu was perhaps the only surprising name on today’s list because the versatile 25-year-old appeared to be a candidate for a utility job on the Opening Day roster. The Nats, though, believe he’ll be better served getting more regular at-bats in minor league games the rest of the spring, rotating among multiple positions in the field.

“It was tough,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The reality is, we want to get him to play every day. He’s going to end up playing multiple positions. Get him comfortable playing some third, some second and even some left field. But just let him get as many at-bats as possible.”

Alu, a 24th round pick in the 2019 draft, turned heads in the organization last season when he racked up 40 doubles, 20 homers, 81 RBIs and an .871 OPS in 132 games split between Harrisburg and Rochester. Primarily a third baseman, the 5-foot-10 left-handed hitter has been attempting to master other positions in hopes of setting himself up for a career as a big league utilityman.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training night games are usually pretty rare, but this spring is different. The Nationals have eight of them scheduled, including a stretch of three in a row that continues tonight against the Marlins.

Patrick Corbin gets the ball for his third start of the spring. The lefty gave up runs in each of his first two outings, serving up two homers to the Cardinals in his debut and then two more runs to the Astros five days ago. Obviously, stats aren’t important this time of year. But it would be nice to see Corbin offer up three clean innings for a change, right?

With most regulars having played Thursday night and likely scheduled to play again Saturday night, there aren’t as many in Davey Martinez’s lineup for this one. Keibert Ruiz does, however, get a chance to get some at-bats as the designated hitter without having to squat behind the plate. We’ll also get a look at several of the remaining candidates for bench spots, including Alex Call, Stone Garrett, Michael Chavis and Jeter Downs.

A couple of big league relievers are on the pitching docket as well, with Kyle Finnegan and Carl Edwards Jr. slated for one inning a piece.

Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler are back in town, so you can hear their call of the game on 106.7 FM.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In his perfect world, Davey Martinez would have a left-hander in his Opening Day bullpen. Two of them, actually.

By now, though, the Nationals manager probably realizes there’s no such thing as a perfect world. Certainly not when it comes to this specific area.

It’s been a near-annual struggle since Martinez joined the organization to find consistently effective left-handed relievers. He’s had 10 lefties make at least 10 appearances since 2018. Only two have produced an ERA under 4.00: Sean Doolittle and Brad Hand.

Hand, of course, was only here for four months during the 2021 season before he was traded to the Blue Jays. And Doolittle, while dominant at times, has dealt with multiple injuries and is currently attempting to return from elbow surgery that limited him to five games last season.

The Nats, ideally, would love to develop guys from within their own farm system. And they believe they have two such candidates in big league camp this spring in Jose Ferrer and Matt Cronin. Each has shown promise through the first two weeks of exhibition play. Then each struggled mightily Thursday night during a 9-0 loss to Team Israel.

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.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals continue to believe Victor Robles will miss only a few days after bruising his left knee making a difficult catch Wednesday afternoon, but they were concerned enough to send the center fielder for a follow-up ultrasound today.

Robles wasn’t seen at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches while reporters were in the clubhouse prior to tonight’s exhibition against Israel, but he was walking with a slight limp after the game Wednesday against the Tigers in Lakeland.

“He’s going to be day-to-day,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s going to be checked out. I want to make sure that everything’s OK with him. So he’s going to get an ultrasound today, because we want to be cautious.”

Robles was chasing down Spencer Torkelson’s second-inning drive to deep center field when he crashed into the fence at Joker Marchant Stadium, his left knee striking the wall. He made the catch but immediately fell to the ground in pain. After attempting to get up and walk it off, he went back down to the ground, prompting Martinez and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard to jog out of the visitors’ dugout to tend to him.

Martinez said Robles’ kneecap struck a pipe that sits directly behind that portion of the wall, causing the injury.