DALLAS -- The Nationals traveled to the 2024 Winter Meetings this week looking to build their ¡®25 roster, and they leave with a major boost for their future.

The Nats landed the No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, determined on Tuesday in the Draft Lottery. This will be the third time in team history (2005-present) the Nationals select first overall.

¡°The future is bright, and it¡¯s gotten brighter because we got the No. 1 pick,¡± manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°We¡¯re trying to add pieces ¡­ It¡¯s not over [at Winter Meetings]. We¡¯re going to keep trying to get better. But the core is what I love the most. Our core guys, our young guys, last year they got a lot of experience. This year, I expect them to come to Spring Training ready to go and have an exciting 2025 season.¡±

Biggest remaining needs

Offensive power: The Nationals ranked 25th among all teams with a -104 run differential last season. They also hit the fewest home runs in the National League, and their .375 slugging percentage ranked second to last in the NL.

¡°Looking at the landscape of the team, I think that when you look at how ¡¯24 ended, we felt good about our starting rotation and the depth of the rotation -- which was a strong point,¡± general manager Mike Rizzo said. ¡°But when you come 29th [overall] in home runs and toward the bottom in slug, that¡¯s a point of emphasis for us this offseason.¡±

1B/DH: The Nationals can look internally for much of their 2025 roster, but the first base and designated hitter roles remain areas to address. The first-base free-agent market is deep, headlined by Christian Walker and Pete Alonso.

¡°We¡¯re going to try to not pigeonhole ourselves, but it¡¯s that clear we have an opportunity to fill in several different spots -- first base, designated hitter,¡± Rizzo said. ¡°We feel that Yeppy [Juan Yepez] and Chappy [Andr¨¦s Chaparro] did a nice job for us. I think that they¡¯ll be guys that will be usable on a roster. But I think that beyond those two guys, we can improve ourselves in several of those positions.¡±

Veteran leadership: On a young team, the Nationals will look to add a veteran presence.

¡°I believe in chemistry and culture, we want to bring the right guy in,¡± Martinez said, adding, ¡°... Just to have a veteran presence in that clubhouse, one or two guys -- even if it's for a year or two -- it will definitely help.¡±

Rule 5 Draft
The Nationals selected right-hander Evan Reifert from the Rays with their first pick in the Rule 5 Draft. Reifert, 25, went 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 35 relief appearances (41 1/3 innings) in Double-A last season. He enters the Nats¡¯ top 30 prospects list ranked No. 26, per MLB Pipeline.

¡°I heard my name get called and I didn¡¯t really know how to react to it at first,¡± Reifert said. ¡°Goosebumps, chills, everything like that, and just pure joy and excitement from just hearing my name getting called. It¡¯s just been a surge of emotions coming over me. Obviously, I¡¯m super excited for my opportunity here with the Nationals now and also sad that I¡¯m leaving the Rays and some of my buddies there. But I¡¯m looking forward to the opportunity.¡±

Reifert is two years removed from being named the 2022 Arizona Fall League Reliever of the Year. He earned the honors for recording 25 strikeouts to just one hit in 11 2/3 scoreless innings.

¡°He¡¯s got two plus pitches, one extreme swing-and-miss pitch with the slider, and he posted extremely good numbers at the Double-A level,¡± Rizzo said. ¡°We¡¯re going to give him every opportunity to make the team and stick on the team and to help impact the bullpen.¡±

The Nationals also selected right-hander Hyun-il Choi from the Dodgers' organization in the Minor League phase of the Draft. Choi, 24, went 5-11 with a 4.92 ERA in 24 appearances (21 starts) in 115 1/3 frames across Double-A and Triple-A.

Nationals¡¯ 2019 fourth-round Draft pick, southpaw Matt Cronin, was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round of the Minor League phase.

GM¡¯s bottom line
¡°We¡¯ve been extremely busy,¡± Rizzo said. ¡°We¡¯ve had a lot of meetings with a lot of agents and a lot of teams. I think that we feel good about the foundations that we¡¯ve laid so far, and hopefully they¡¯ll bloom into some players that we can sign to help the team.¡±