Nats' attention turned to Draft, 'reset' of All-Star break

MILWAUKEE -- Despite being swept by the Brewers in a weekend series heading into the All-Star break -- losing the finale, 8-1, on Sunday -- there’s excitement around the Nationals organization stemming from the 2025 MLB Draft.

After winning the lottery, the team selected 17-year-old shortstop Eli Willits with the first overall pick in the Draft, which began Sunday night. It is the third time in franchise history that the Nationals have held the top pick, previously selecting Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010).

The Nationals will also select in the second round (No. 49 overall) and third round (No. 80 overall) on Sunday.

Draft day arrives just a week after a regime change in Washington. The Nationals parted ways with manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo last Sunday, with senior vice president and assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo being named interim GM and Miguel Cairo interim manager.

Martinez and Rizzo led the Nationals to their first World Series in team history in 2019. Rizzo was in his 17th year as the head of Washington's baseball operations; Martinez was the longest-tenured and winningest manager in Nationals team history (500-622).

The decision followed a difficult June, during which the Nationals went 7-19. The struggles continue in July. The Nationals dropped a third straight game to the Brewers on Sunday, managing just four hits in an 8-1 loss. They head into the break with a 38-58 record, last in the NL East. The team is 1-5 since the changes were made.

“Our business is here at the field, but at the end of the day, the No. 1 overall pick is organization changing,” said Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin, who took a hard-luck loss on Sunday, giving up four hits and three unearned runs in five innings. “We’re really excited to see whoever it is that might be coming on. I know the development staff is ready to work with someone like that and get them ready to come and make an impact for us.”

Cairo said the Nationals' Draft team is ready for action.

“They’re in the boardroom right now trying to figure out who they’re going to pick. It’s exciting,” he said. “Hopefully, we get good players who help us sooner.”

Jacob Young, who broke up All-Star Freddy Peralta’s no-hitter with a one-out single in the sixth, said he expects to get word on how the Draft is playing out for the Nationals because of all the attention around having the top pick -- although he admitted that he’s not familiar with many of the players who’ll be on the board.

“Because we have the No. 1 pick, I’m sure it’ll pop up on my phone a few times," Young said. "But I honestly don’t know many of the guys anymore, in college or in high school."

CJ Abrams, who was the sixth overall pick by the Padres in the 2019 Draft, was a late scratch from the Nationals' lineup on Sunday due to minor right shoulder soreness.

Abrams, who came to the Nationals at the 2022 Deadline as part of the trade the sent Juan Soto to San Diego, experienced the soreness while warming up for Sunday’s game.

“It was last-minute. He went into the cage to try to hit. He wasn’t feeling good. We didn’t want to take a chance,” Cairo said. “He told me yesterday it was a little tight, but he played through it. You respect that. Today, it didn’t loosen up.”

The Nationals will have two representatives in Tuesday’s All-Star Game -- left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore and outfielder James Wood, who will also take part in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday. Wood got a rest day, sitting out of Sunday’s contest against the Brewers.

“He’s going to be in the Home Run Derby and play in the All Star game,” Cairo said. “He doesn’t have time off. I just wanted to give him the day [off] today so that he can just chill out and relax. He’s been playing every day. He’s the big player on our team. I just wanted to give him a day.”

The Nationals have lost eight of nine heading into the break.

“This is a good time to reset. A lot of stuff happened in the last week,” Cairo said. “We’re going to come back and be ready to play.”