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All indications are that Cavalli is healthy after tossing five scoreless innings against the Cardinals last Friday. However, the Nationals have nothing to play for in the final week of the season and aren’t going to let Cavalli take the ball again after signing a four-year, $47 million contract extension earlier this month. He was slated to close out the season with a road matchup against the Tigers on Wednesday. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers in the home stretch of rotisserie formats as he finishes his breakout campaign with a 13-5 record along with a 3.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 200/48 K/BB ratio across 169 2/3 innings of work.

Cavalli piled up six strikeouts on the night while scattering just four hits — all singles — without walking a batter. The only real threat against him came in the second inning as the Cardinals started with a pair of singles, but Cavalli was able to escape without any damage being done. He got 11 swings and misses on 73 offerings on the night, registering an elite CSW of 37 percent. Now 13-5 on the season, he’ll bring an impressive 3,02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 200/48 K/BB ratio (169 2/3 innings) into his final start of the season against the Tigers in Detroit on Wednesday.

This was rumored to be close on Thursday and it gets done on Friday. This extension buys out one year of free agency as well as his arbitration seasons before considering the team option. The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports the deal is worth $47 million guaranteed and that the option is worth $23 million. Cavalli, starting tonight’s game for the Nationals, has posted a 3.12 ERA in 31 starts while striking out 194 batters over 164 2/3 innings. He’s been even better than that as of late, with a 2.83 ERA since the start of June. The 28-year-old will be a part of the Nationals rotation plans going forward and has made the leap to extremely useful fantasy pitcher this season. It’s a success for the Nationals to get him locked up for the long-term.

The 28-year-old hurler has blossomed into the Nationals’ ace this season, going 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 194/48 K/BB ratio across 164 2/3 innings. Cavalli is currently in the first of four arbitration years as a Super Two player, so it seems likely that the extension would cover all arbitration years and the first year or two of free agency as well.

The Nationals are going to roll with a bullpen game against the Phillies on Wednesday with Cavalli getting a couple extra days of rest. The 28-year-old struck out nine and allowed two runs over six innings against the Angels his last time out.

Cavalli retired the first batter of the game he faced, only to surrender a solo homer to Mike Trout in the following at-bat. He would retire the next two batters he faced to get out of the inning, and would not allow another run to score the rest of the night. His nine strikeouts mark the third straight game in which he has struck out eight or more batters, and Cavalli has allowed two earned runs or less in each of his last six starts. Cavalli will look to continue his dominant ways in his next start, which is set for Friday on the road against the Cardinals.

Cavalli, who struck out eight and walked none, departed with a two-run lead that immediately disappeared in the bottom of the seventh. It’s the fourth time this year that he’s left in line for a win and watched the bullpen blow it, but he’s a fine 12-5 anyway. He’ll face the Angels next weekend.

Cavalli suffered the injury when he was struck by a batted ball on a comebacker to end the fourth inning. It sounds like he was able to avoid any structural damage and it’s likely that he’ll be able to take his next scheduled turn in the Nationals’ rotation. Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief.

Cavalli was able to make the play to end the inning, but limped off the field and into the tunnel. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers as the 28-year-old right-hander was dealing — as he hadn’t allowed a hit and had struck out eight batters through four scoreless frames. He’ll presumably head for imaging to see if there’s any structural damage. Expect the Nationals to provide an update on his status as soon as more information is available.

Cavalli reeled off his ninth consecutive quality start and has accomplished the feat in an astonishing 26 of his 28 starts this season. The 28-year-old former top prospect allowed solo homers to Willi Castro and Ezequiel Tovar, but managed to keep Colorado’s offense in check otherwise. He’s notched at least seven strikeouts in four straight starts since August 8. Simply put, he’s looked like an upper-echelon fantasy starter for a couple months and is going to be an extremely popular early-round pick in drafts next spring. He’ll close out a two-start week with a tasty matchup against the division-rival Marlins on Saturday.

Cavalli just keeps getting better. He set the tone by striking out four of the first five batters he faced and never looked back. His 11 punch-outs were the second-most in a start this season and the fifth time he’s reached double digits. A key to his in-season breakout, his improving sweeper was strong against right-handed batters with a nearly 70% strike rate while working as his primary pitch against them. Otherwise, the trio of that pitch, his fastball, and knuckle-curve stymied the Rangers’ lefties and combined to force 12 of his 14 swings-and-misses. He’s completed at least six innings in eight straight starts without allowing more than three runs in any and picked up six wins over that span. That looks something like a league-winner. Next up, he has a two-start week against the Rockies and Marlins, both at home.

Cavalli also walked two batters in the ballgame. He retired the first 15 batters he faced until Dansby Swanson worked him for a walk to open the sixth inning. Cavalli’s no-hit bid was then spoiled by a two-out single from Michael Busch in the seventh. The 27-year-old right-hander got 14 whiffs on 103 pitches on the afternoon, posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll carry an impressive 3.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 151/41 K/BB ratio (136 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers in Arlington.

A classic good except for the dingers starter, and these were some loud homers: Eugenio Suárez’s homer was 422 feet over the bullpen, Matt McClain’s was 420 feet just to the left of the pen, and Elly De La Cruz went back-to-back on a wall scraper to the opposite field. But Cavalli was able to coax a double play ball from Sal Stewart in the fifth inning when he needed it and otherwise was able to stop the Reds from stringing together a sequence. When a team squares up this fastball, it flies, but the 40 percent whiff rate told the tale for Cavalli today. He’ll draw the Cubs next start.

Cavalli’s fourth straight quality start saw him settle for just three strikeouts, but it wasn’t an issue against the often-punchless Blue Jays. He finishes the month of July 3-0 with a 3.08 ERA in five starts. Next up for him is a start in Atlanta. He fanned 10 while allowing two runs over five innings in his previous start against the Braves back in April.

Coors was no issue for Cavalli. Eddy Yean and Max Kranick finished up the six-hitter after Cavalli got through seven in 90 pitches. It’s Cavalli’s first scoreless start this year, and he’s up to 14th in the majors with 127 strikeouts in 110 2/3 innings. He’ll face the Blue Jays next week.

Both runs came on Tyler Soderstrom’s homer in the fourth. Cavalli went without a walk for the sixth time in 21 starts this season and upped his K/BB ratio to 119/32 K/BB in 104 2/3 innings. He might start to run out of gas at some point — his career-high for innings is 123 1/3 — but things continue to look quite good for the short term. He’ll face the Rockies in Coors next week, and while that’s not necessarily a great ERA bet, he should have a pretty good chance at notching another win.

The Nationals will open the second half with Cavalli on the mound. He’ll be followed by Zack Littell (who has been opened for recently) on Saturday. and Foster Griffin on Sunday. Cavalli’s first half ended with a 3.83 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings. He’s been going deeper into starts lately and is a viable 12-team starter against West Sacramento on Friday.

It was Cavalli’s first start since he served a five-game — originally seven-game, but reduced on appeal — suspension for his involvement for the scuffle against the Red Sox the previous week. He exited with a lead, but as has been the case many times for the Nationals in 2026, the bullpen did not get the job done. Cavalli struck out five against one walk while allowing four hits. It seems likely Cavalli will start one of the first games after the break for the Nationals.

Cavalli is eligible to start Sunday’s first-half finale against the Yankees following the five-game ban for his on-field actions against the Red Sox last week. The 27-year-old’s velocity was down and he dealt with some dehydration issues during Sunday’s start against the Pirates where he allowed four runs over 2 1/3 innings of work. The rough outing came on the heels of a brilliant 13-strikeout effort against Boston. There are likely to be fluctuations from a results standpoint with Cavalli, but he’s shown enough upside to merit consideration for a roster spot in most fantasy leagues heading into the second half.

Cavalli also issued two walks while striking out three in the ballgame. After a scoreless inning, the Pirates got to him for three runs in the second, then Bryan Reynolds added a solo shot in the third. He got nine whiffs on 63 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 22 percent. He’ll now serve his seven-game suspension and won’t make another start until after the All-Star break.