Nats set sights on power bat, Draft Lottery

The Nationals’ No. 1 need this offseason is no secret. They need a power bat, ideally at first base but potentially at another position if there’s a good match.

This team ranked last in the National League with 135 home runs. It ranked second-to-last in home runs by first basemen with 14. The only returning candidates to play that position are Juan Yepez and Andres Chaparro, who combined for 10 homers over 381 plate appearances.

If they want to put forth a more productive lineup next season, it’s the obvious upgrade that must occur this winter.

To date, they haven’t upgraded at first base. Nor have they upgraded at any position so far during an awfully quiet offseason. The good news: Nobody has.

Not a single free agent first baseman has signed anywhere yet. And the list includes a good number of prominent names just waiting to be courted and locked up.

Pete Alonso remains the biggest prize, and there’s reason to believe the market on the Polar Bear could pick up now that the No. 1 prize of the entire free agent market has decided on his new home. The intriguing question related to that: After signing Juan Soto for $765 million, are the Mets no longer interested or capable of bringing Alonso back?

Maybe Steve Cohen’s bank account truly is limitless, and Alonso returns to bat behind Soto for years to come. But if not, there are going to be plenty of teams pursuing him, including the one that needs to save face after losing Soto to its crosstown rivals.

The Nationals may not have the wherewithal or desire to get into a bidding war with the Yankees, but that could potentially play to their advantage. If Alonso goes to the Bronx, that’s one less competitor for another highly appealing (and more affordable) first baseman: Christian Walker.

Walker (who averaged 32 homers, 94 RBIs, an .813 OPS and a Gold Glove Award each of the last three seasons with the Diamondbacks) is going to be coveted by several clubs. If he goes elsewhere, next on the list of available first basemen is Paul Goldschmidt, followed by Carlos Santana and Anthony Rizzo. Other short-term options include Justin Turner, Mark Canha and old pal Josh Bell.

Club officials haven’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring a power bat at a different position, perhaps third base, with Alex Bregman by far the biggest names available. They also could in theory target an outfielder, opening the door for a four-man rotation that would give everyone regular opportunities to DH instead of playing the field.

Whatever the case, a power bat clearly is the Nationals’ top priority at this point. Can they come home from the Winter Meetings with one in their possession, or will the search prolong deeper into December?

* The Nats will be very interested participants in tonight’s Draft Lottery, with a fair shot at securing the No. 1 pick in next summer’s event.

The Nationals have the fourth-best odds of winning the lottery at 10.2 percent, with only the Rockies (22.5 percent), Marlins (22.5 percent) and Angels (18 percent) having a better chance. They have a 71.8 percent chance of emerging with a top-six pick.

The lottery will be held at 5:30 p.m. Eastern and will be televised live by MLB Network.