Tonight, the MLB Winter Meetings will host the lottery drawing for the 2025 draft. The draw will begin at 5:30 PM ET and be broadcast on MLB Network. We will have the draft's outcome as soon as it happens, so be sure to follow us on X and Blue Sky.

Good Morning, Washington Nationals fans. Here are your Morning headlines, analysis, and more for December 10, 2024.

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📌 DRIVING THE DAY HERE AT THE NATS REPORT

📌 MLB reacts to Juan Soto's contract. There has been a lot of commentary and hot takes around the news from Sunday night about the mega deal of Juan Soto and what it means for the New York Mets and MLB as a whole. We will not go into this anymore, as now that the biggest free agent is officially off the board, it's time to focus on what the Nationals will do next and prepare for 2025. Sure, there are going to be big dates ahead that will capture the league's interest, like Soto's first press conference in Flushing or when he reports to Spring Training, but if you are looking for Mets news, we aren't your source for that.

What's next for the Nationals? Now, that is what we are going to be focusing on. As I mentioned in yesterday's Morning Briefing, still remains. The Nationals shouldn't try to go out and sign the next biggest free agent and spend like others have suggested that the Nationals do. That's cheap click-bait, and that isn't a strategy that is reactionary to something that is never a good strategy. However, ownership should move to help fill the seats at Nationals Park with Nats fans, not fans from the opposing teams. In my opinion, the calls for reckless spending are just a way to pile on and take cheap shots. Soto would never extend his contract with the Nationals in 2022 when he was offered money, so the Nationals ownership and front office did the right thing. What the Nationals should do next is make smart decisions and remain focused on building for the future and building a team that will be constantly good for years to come, even after the Soto contract is over. Now, that is a strategy.

📌 MLB Draft Lottery at the Winter Meetings. Talking about theFUTURE, this evening, all eyes will be on the MLB network for the third straight year; the lottery drawing for the 2025 draft will happen at this year's Winter Meetings. According to MLB, the Washington Nationals have the fourth-best odds of getting the number one pick in the 2025 draft, with a 10.20% chance. The Colorado Rockies have the best odds with 22.45%, followed by the Miami Marlins with 22.45%, then the Los Angeles Angles with 17.96%. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have updated their 2025 top amateur draft-eligible players rankings. The Top four names are the same on both lists but are in different orders; Talk Nats has the details.

📌 Meet the Press. Yesterday afternoon, Davey Martinez met with reporters and held his press conference at the Winter Meetings. We will have a full recap of the press conference later today on the site; be sure to check it out.

📌 Must Reads. Even though the Nationals have been super quiet, we at the Nats Report have been super busy. Yesterday, we released Part Four of our Top Prospect series, so be sure to check that out; we also published a brand new Rochester report on Jack Dunn. Either way, we are your source for all the off-season news, analysis, and more around the Nationals. You are in the right place for the latest!

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