ARLINGTON, Texas – The Nationals have been a tough watch lately. They’ve lost 14 of their last 19, including their last four games. The lineup is a shell of what it used to be. The pitching staff has undergone significant changes, too. Nevertheless, there is at least one good reason to tune into tonight’s game against the Rangers: Cade Cavalli will be on the mound.
Cavalli has become must-see TV, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning last time out against the Cubs and stringing together seven consecutive quality starts. His consistency and steady improvement over the course of his first full big-league season really stand out and should give everyone reason to be optimistic in the long term.
If you were hoping to see CJ Abrams at second base tonight, though, you’re not going to get your wish. Blake Butera said “a lot of it is just waiting for him to feel good over there and ready to go,” and Abrams hasn’t conveyed he does feel ready yet. So put that plan on hold for at least another day, because he’s starting at shortstop tonight.
The Nationals made a roster move this afternoon, swapping relievers by optioning the erratic Yovanny Cruz to Triple-A and purchasing the contract of left-hander Erik Tolman from Rochester. Scroll down below the lineups for more on those moves ...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Globe Life Field
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Indoors
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
1B Abimelec Ortiz
LF José Tena
RF Daylen Lile
DH Andrés Chaparro
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Jacob Young
3B Jorbit Vivas
2B Nasim Nuñez
RHP Cade Cavalli
RANGERS
1B Joc Pederson
SS Corey Seager
DH Wyatt Langford
RF Brandon Nimmo
3B Ezequiel Duran
CF Evan Carter
LF Jarred Kelenic
C Elias Diaz
2B Nicky Lopez
RHP Kumar Rocker
CRUZ OPTIONED, TOLMAN PROMOTED
The Nationals demoted reliever Yovanny Cruz to Triple-A Rochester today, acknowledging the erratic right-hander needs to be in a lower-pressure environment to work on his fastball command instead of trying to figure it out on the fly in the big leagues.
Cruz, one of four pitchers acquired from the Yankees in the Luis García Jr. trade, has flashed a triple-digit fastball in six appearances since joining the club but has shown little ability to consistently throw strikes. He’s allowed five runs on nine hits and five walks in four total innings and blew his first save opportunity over the weekend in New York when he gave up on his fastball and closed his outing throwing 17 sliders and one splitter.
Cruz did toss a scoreless bottom of the eighth Tuesday night and included a few more fastballs along the way. But the organization felt he would be better-served working out his issues at Triple-A for now.
“We believe in Yovanny,” manager Blake Butera said. “We think he’s going to be a big part of our future. But with that, we have a plan set up for him. We want him to work on the fastball a little bit, the command and also to get some more movement on that pitch, potentially introduce a sinker. And that’s something our pitching coaches here felt like was tough to do while he’s also trying to compete in the big leagues, and didn’t think that was fair to Yovanny.”
Cruz’s replacement in the big-league bullpen is Erik Tolman, a 27-year-old left-hander who may not be well-know to Nationals fans but is known within the organization because of the remarkable path he’s taken to get to this point.
A 14th-round pick from Arizona State in 2021, he has twice undergone Tommy John surgery. Then after finally making it back from those elbow reconstructions in 2023, he suffered a freak right knee injury that caused so much damage to his entire lower leg, doctors briefly considered amputation.
Tolman somehow recovered and returned to pitch last season, then reached Triple-A for the first time this year, making 32 appearances with a 5.23 ERA, 42 strikeouts and 23 walks in 31 innings. When he learned of his promotion Tuesday from Rochester manager Matt LeCroy, he turned emotional.
“There were obviously tears, and a handful of laughs, just the stories we’ve talked about over the years and the hardships,” Tolman said. “It’s just really cool to me and my family to be here. Everything I went through, I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of everyone who has supported me along the way. I can’t wait to show the world what I have.”