This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato's Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Nationals¡¯ roster is filled with potential. Next season, they want to turn that offensive potential into power at the plate. How will the Nats improve their offense before Spring Training?

¡°We're definitely looking for some power bats, both corner spots, maybe DH spot, so we'll see what transpires,¡± manager Dave Martinez said at the Winter Meetings.

Last season among NL teams, the Nationals ranked last in home runs (135) and isolated power (.132). They also finished second-to-last in the NL in runs scored (660), slugging percentage (.375), batting average on balls in play (.288) and Statcast barrel percentage (5.6).

¡°When you come 29th in home runs and towards the bottom in slug, that¡¯s a point of emphasis for us this offseason,¡± general manager Mike Rizzo said at the Winter Meetings.

Over the past two seasons, the Nationals have hit a combined 286 homers. In comparison, the Braves led the NL with 520 in that span.

In 2024, only four Nats reached double digits in home runs: CJ Abrams (20), Luis Garc¨ªa Jr. (18), Keibert Ruiz (13) and Joey Gallo (10). Rookie James Wood offered a glimpse into how Washington's young bats can develop -- he belted nine homers in just 79 Major League games.

¡°It¡¯s a commodity that's difficult to find, it's difficult to develop and it's a difficult skill to master,¡± Rizzo said of slugging. ¡°I see the development of some of our own players with their slugging percentage and their power getting better. I think that with our young kids, the normal maturation leads to gradually some more power. And then we have to go outside the organization to find some.¡±

The 2025 ZiPS projections were released this month, and Wood is predicted to lead the Nationals' offense in his first full year in the Majors. Here are four notable projections:

Wood: .265/.351/.456, 137 hits, 20 HR, 76 RBI, 127 OPS+
Garc¨ªa Jr.: .269/.308/.423, 140 hits, 16 HR, 69 RBI, 105 OPS+
Abrams: .252/.313/.420, 137 hits, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 106 OPS+
Dylan Crews: .245/.309/.398, 124 hits, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 99 OPS+

ZiPS also projects Ruiz to improve his production to a .246 batting average from a career-low .229 last season.

¡°We talked a lot about his positioning when it comes to hitting, giving himself a chance, getting ready early,¡± Martinez said of Ruiz¡¯s offseason approach. ¡°I know he's working on that, getting shorter to the baseball. ¡­ But hey, one thing I know about Keibert, that guy's a gamer.¡±

As the Nationals shape their roster, they could identify multiple players to platoon as the designated hitter and spark the offense. When asked at the Winter Meetings about the DH role, Martinez didn¡¯t hesitate on his ideal criteria.

¡°A 40-home run guy,¡± he said with a laugh. ¡°But if we have to platoon, we¡¯ll platoon. We'll see what's available, and we'll see what we come up with.¡±