Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli is set to begin serving a five-game suspension on Monday, after an appeal trimmed his original penalty by two games. The right-hander had been handed a seven-game ban for his involvement in a bench-clearing altercation involving Willson Contreras and the Boston Red Sox the previous week.
Three other players who were also disciplined — Contreras, Boston’s Nate Eaton, and Washington’s Miles Mikolas — all filed appeals as well, though it remained unclear whether their suspensions would also be shortened. Mikolas took the mound in Washington’s Monday home game against the Houston Astros while his own suspension remains on hold pending the outcome of his appeal.
Major League Baseball originally handed Cavalli and Contreras seven-game bans, while Mikolas received five games and Eaton three games for their parts in the incident, which took place last Tuesday. All four were also fined, though the specific amounts were not disclosed.
The confrontation began in the fourth inning of Washington’s 8-1 victory, when Cavalli struck out Contreras. Replay footage showed Cavalli saying “Sit down, boy!” and using the word “boy” multiple times in the moments that followed. Cavalli publicly apologized the next day for the comment.
Contreras, a Venezuelan native, said after Tuesday’s game that he was uncertain whether there were racial undertones to Cavalli’s use of the word. Cavalli maintained that he had no harmful intent behind the remark.
“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived. Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that,” Cavalli said. He also acknowledged that he understands the word carries a racist history in certain contexts.
“There’s a history behind that word, and that’s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing wiffle ball with my brother, you don’t understand it,” Cavalli said. “And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It’ll never happen again.”
During the on-field scuffle, Contreras threw his batting helmet in Cavalli’s direction and was ejected, as were Mikolas and Eaton. Contreras had also been ejected from the game prior to this incident after tapping his helmet following a disputed check-swing call, and he was involved in yet another bench-clearing situation against the New York Yankees.
Cavalli took the mound Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates while his appeal was still being reviewed, throwing just 2 1/3 innings without a decision. The 27-year-old, now in his third MLB season, holds a 5-4 record with a 3.88 ERA over 19 starts.
