Cavalli strong in second rehab start; Law and Ribalta still not throwing

Cade Cavalli took the mound for his second rehab start Thursday night while starting the season on the 15-day injured list and pitched to some very encouraging results.

Moved up to Double-A Harrisburg, the right-hander completed five scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts on an efficient 69 pitches, 43 of which were strikes.

“Very good. He threw the ball exceptionally well,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said ahead of his team’s opener against the Mets. “I think his average velo was up to about 96 (mph). He threw the ball really well. Curveball was very good. He was trying to land it for strikes; he did that very well. So he's just building himself up. He's doing well.”

Cavalli’s first rehab start, as he continues to build his way back from March 2023 Tommy John surgery, came on April 19 with Single-A Fredericksburg. On that night, he completed four shutout innings with one hit, two walks, three strikeouts on 46 pitches, 29 strikes.

When asked where he would like to see Cavalli’s fastball velocity to be during these rehab starts, Martinez referenced the famous signs at last year’s spring training that hung in the bullpen and read, “I don’t care how fast you throw ball four.”

“Hey, you remember the sign. The ole sign,” the skipper said with a laugh. “We really want him to throw strikes. But when he's throwing strikes and pumping 95-97 (mph), it's awesome. It's awesome. So the big thing for him is to throw strike one, work ahead and, like I said, sharpen up the rest of his pitches. He's in a good place right now and doing really well.”

After missing all of 2023, Cavalli had trouble staying healthy enough to ramp up his rehab in 2024, thanks to a case of the flu and a period of “dead arm” that kept setting him back.

But now that he’s fully healthy, he’s no longer talking about Tommy John rehab and instead focusing on building up for the season, with his next start coming next week when the Senators are in Reading (Phillies).

“Right now, nothing. It's like spring training for him right now,” Martinez said of any limitations set on Cavalli. “So like I said, we'll continue to build him up, get him some starts. Right now, it's all about the next day and how he feels, and getting him back out there for a start.”

* Martinez had said earlier this week that Derek Law (on the 15-day IL with right forearm inflammation) and Orlando Ribalta (on the 15-day IL with a right biceps strain) could both be cleared to resume throwing by the end of this week. But that hasn’t happened yet.

Now the Nationals are hoping the two right-handed relievers will be cleared at some point before this homestand ends or while the team is on the road next week.

“I haven't heard anything yet. But I know they're both getting close,” Martinez said. “I'm hoping it happens in this homestand. But if not, I think hopefully by next week when we're on the road, they'll both get to start throwing.”