Oklahoma Professional Athletes

The Biggest Week of Cade Cavalli's Career

It doesn't get much better than this for a former Sooner. On the same night the Washington Nationals officially announced a four-year, $47 million contract extension for right-hander Cade Cavalli, the 28-year-old took the mound and helped make rare franchise history alongside shortstop CJ Abrams — a convergence of business and baseball that the organization called one of its best days in years.

The deal, first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided and later confirmed by multiple outlets, includes a club option for the 2031 season. Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said the timing felt right given Cavalli's emergence as the team's clear ace in his first full season as a starter. Cavalli currently ranks fourth among NL pitchers in strikeouts and eighth in ERA — production that made the front office eager to get a deal done before arbitration negotiations dragged into winter.

Cavalli capped the week on the mound Saturday, tossing five innings and striking out six in Washington's 9-1 blowout of the Cardinals, lowering his ERA to 3.02. For a pitcher who has battled injuries to reach this point, the extension represents both validation and security — and for Sooner fans, a marquee moment from one of Norman's most-watched MLB prospects.

Yahoo Sports called it "the best day for the Washington Nationals in a long time," noting that Cavalli's extension, combined with Josiah Gray's return and several other milestones, made it a genuinely historic evening at Nationals Park.

More Sooners in Action

Cavalli wasn't the only Oklahoma alum turning heads this week. Fellow National Jake Irvin started Sunday, September 13 against the Angels, striking out six over five innings — though he allowed three earned runs in a narrow 6-5 Washington win. Sports Illustrated noted the Nationals are evaluating whether Irvin might shift roles heading into next season, a storyline worth monitoring for OU fans tracking his development.

In Boston, Jake Bennett gave Red Sox fans something to feel good about in a tough week, striking out seven over 4.2 innings against the Rangers on Thursday — though he allowed three earned runs in a 3-7 loss. Reliever Wyatt Olds appeared three times for Boston across the week, logging solid work in low-leverage spots with a 1.23 ERA on the season.

On the South Side, David Sandlin drew a spot start for the White Sox against Detroit on Friday, working four innings with four strikeouts before allowing five earned runs in an 8-11 loss. He also started the week's opener against St. Louis on September 13, going 5.2 innings and fanning five. At 6.29 ERA, Sandlin is still finding his footing at the big-league level, but the starts are coming — a meaningful step for the rookie right-hander.

The Bottom Line

The Cavalli extension is the story of the week — arguably the story of the season for Oklahoma's MLB alumni. A homegrown arm locking up life-changing money while pitching franchise history into the record books on the same night is the kind of moment that doesn't happen often. Boomer Sooner, indeed.

In a season with precious little to celebrate in the nation's capital, Cade Cavalli has become the Nationals' most compelling reason to tune in.

The Oklahoma alum delivered his second straight gem in as many weeks on Friday, striking out nine batters across six innings in a 4-3 Washington victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The outing was nearly a carbon copy of his Sept. 6 start against the Dodgers — six innings, eight strikeouts, two earned runs — and the back-to-back performances have cemented Cavalli as one of the more quietly electric arms in the National League. His ERA sits at 3.12 on the season.

Yahoo Sports put it bluntly: with the Nationals mired in a lost year, "Cade Day" has become its own event. The Washington Post noted that Friday's win snapped a Nationals skid, with Cavalli's stuff doing the heavy lifting before the offense squeaked out a late-rally finish. For a rotation that has struggled to find consistency, having a frontline starter capable of racking up eight-plus strikeouts in back-to-back outings is no small thing — and for Sooner fans, it's been a genuine highlight of the major league calendar.

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Around the Rest of the OU Alumni

The Cavalli show wasn't the only Oklahoma presence on the mound this week.

In Boston, Jake Bennett drew the rubber-match start against the Angels on Sept. 9 with the Red Sox in playoff-positioning mode. The results were rough: Bennett allowed six earned runs in 5.1 innings, a clunker that will sting given the stakes. His ERA ticked up to 3.69 on the season, and the timing — with Boston trying to shrink its magic number — made the outing a costly one. Fellow Sooner Wyatt Olds also appeared out of the Red Sox bullpen in that same Angels series, logging 1.2 innings with one strikeout on Sept. 9, following a more impressive two-inning, five-strikeout relief stint in the series opener on Sept. 7.

In Washington, Jake Irvin took the ball Sept. 7 against the Padres and turned in a middling line: 5.2 innings, three strikeouts, three earned runs, with his ERA now sitting at 5.52. The Nationals have two OU pitchers rotating through their staff this season, and the gap between Cavalli's trajectory and Irvin's has only widened as September progresses.

The broader OU alumni footprint across MLB is significant — 30 former Sooners are currently on active rosters — but this week belonged to the pitchers, and most of all, to Cavalli. If his second half is any indication, Washington may have found something worth building around for 2027 and beyond.

Oklahoma fans had two very different alumni moments to process this week — one a breakout performance, one a frustrating setback.

Bennett Delivers for Boston

Jake Bennett gave Red Sox fans exactly what they needed Thursday night in Baltimore. The Oklahoma product turned in one of his best outings of the season, going six innings against the Orioles, surrendering three earned runs and punching out seven batters in a 6-5 Boston win. The performance further cements Bennett as a legitimate piece of Boston's rotation down the stretch, with his ERA now sitting at 3.34.

He wasn't the only Sooner contributing in Fenway's orbit that week. Wyatt Olds, another OU arm on the Red Sox roster, worked 2.1 innings against the Mariners on September 1 and added a clean inning against Baltimore on September 5, holding his ERA at a stingy 0.96. It's a quiet but efficient presence from Olds — the kind of bullpen reliability contenders covet in September.

Okert Goes Down for Houston

The week's bad news came out of Houston. Steven Okert, one of the Astros' most consistent relievers this season, was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to September 1 with a right hamstring strain. Left-hander Bryan King was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to fill his roster spot.

The timing is painful. Okert had been pitching well — a strikeout-an-inning clip and a 2.13 ERA entering the week, with a sharp two-strikeout inning against the White Sox on September 1 that now looks like his final appearance before the IL stint. With the Astros fighting to stay relevant in the AL West, losing a dependable bullpen arm at this stage of the season is a real blow. No recovery timeline has been given beyond the 15-day minimum.

Cavalli and Irvin Hold the Line in Washington

Out in the nation's capital, Cade Cavalli continued to pitch with the kind of swagger that has made him one of the more intriguing arms in the NL. Earlier in the week, he struck out eight batters across four hitless innings as the Nationals edged the Marlins 5-4 in ten innings — a vintage Cavalli outing that kept Washington in the game until the offense could finally break through. He then drew a marquee assignment Saturday, starting against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium as Washington wrapped up its weekend series in Los Angeles.

Fellow Sooner Jake Irvin also took the ball for the Nationals on September 1 against the Braves, going four innings with five strikeouts. He allowed two earned runs, a workmanlike effort that kept Washington competitive even if the results weren't spotless. With a 5.57 ERA, Irvin is fighting to be exactly the kind of backend starter a team like Washington can lean on while Cavalli handles the headline matchups.

Burch Smith: Season Over in Detroit

One more OU alumni note worth flagging: Tigers right-hander Burch Smith underwent arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder, per reports out of Detroit. He's already on the 60-day IL, and it's a safe assumption his 2026 season is done. What it means for his 2027 availability remains unclear.

A mixed week for the Sooner diaspora — but with Bennett and Olds anchoring a legitimate AL contender in Boston, there's plenty to watch as the stretch run heats up.

Jake Bennett Keeps Dealing — Workload Be Damned

The headline act was easy to identify. On Aug. 29, Oklahoma alum Jake Bennett walked into Yankee Stadium and made it look like a bullpen session, spinning six shutout innings — three hits, seven strikeouts — as the Boston Red Sox cruised to a 6-0 victory in the first game of a doubleheader. It was a performance that defied the narrative swirling around him: that a heavy rookie workload was finally starting to wear him down.

Bennett's ERA now sits at 3.27, and the two-start week only reinforced his status as one of Boston's most reliable arms. He opened the period on Aug. 23 against the Giants, tossing seven innings while allowing three earned runs and striking out six — a quality start by any measure, even if not his sharpest. The back-to-back showings add up to 13 innings, 13 strikeouts, and three earned runs across the week. For a rookie pitcher facing late-August fatigue questions, that's a firm answer.

The workload concern isn't manufactured. The Sporting News flagged it directly, and the Red Sox are clearly managing a pitcher being asked to shoulder more than the average first-year arm. But for now, Bennett is managing it himself — one efficient outing at a time.

Wyatt Olds Carves Out a Bullpen Role

Bennett wasn't the only Sooner making noise in Boston. Reliever Wyatt Olds has quietly become part of the Red Sox bullpen furniture during a chaotic stretch for the unit. With Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman sidelined, Boston has reshuffled its late-game options, and Olds has logged appearances in three straight series — including a two-strikeout inning against the Yankees on Aug. 28. He's not closing games, but he's eating innings when the team needs it most.

Cavalli and Irvin Keep Washington's Rotation Afloat

In Washington, two Sooner starters are keeping the Nationals competitive. Cade Cavalli headlined the week with a six-inning, seven-strikeout effort against the Rockies on Aug. 24 — two earned runs, ERA down to 3.21 — and followed it with four innings and eight strikeouts against the Marlins on Aug. 29. A Yahoo Sports piece noted Cavalli is "learning to succeed without his best stuff," which is either a red flag or a maturation milestone, depending on how his second half finishes.

Jake Irvin complemented him against Colorado on Aug. 27, striking out six in 4.1 innings and allowing just one run. The Rockies squandered multiple baserunning opportunities against him — a familiar story for a Washington staff that continues to pitch above its expected results.

Jimmy Crooks Delivers When It Counts

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Jimmy Crooks is fighting a rough batting average — .174 on the week — but came through when it mattered. On Aug. 29 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Crooks launched a two-run homer as part of a 4-1 Cardinals win. It's the kind of clutch moment that keeps a roster spot warm even when the overall numbers aren't pretty.

From a Fenway mound to the nation's capital to Busch Stadium, Oklahoma's MLB footprint was impossible to miss this week.