When it came time to negotiate his first professional contract, Eli Willits felt no need to waste any time. He wanted to get the deal done and get to work. He does have a goal, of course, of reaching the big leagues at an extremely young age.

“I’m just ready to get out there and play,” the Nationals’ top draft pick said this afternoon. “I set a goal to be in the big leagues by the time I’m 20. That’s something I’m really excited to do, and hopefully I get there and start playing well, and that can be something I accomplish in the next few years.”

So it was that Willits found himself at Nationals Park, only six days after he was selected No. 1 overall in the Major League Baseball Draft, signing his first professional contract, donning City Connect gear and working out at shortstop and in the batting cage alongside big leaguers prior to tonight’s game against the Padres.

Of course, Willits wasn’t legally allowed to sign that contract by himself. Because he won’t turn 18 until December, his parents also had to sign the $8.2 million deal offered to him by the Nats.

That dollar amount, while a record for a player drafted out of high school, still came in well below MLB’s designated slot value for this year’s No. 1 pick ($11,075,900). The Nationals already were enamored enough with Willits on his playing merits and long-term potential to select him over fellow Oklahoma high school shortstop Ethan Holliday and LSU left-hander Kade Anderson. But the fact they could spend less on his signing bonus and apply those savings to later-round picks was an added bonus for a recently reshaped front office that entered this draft hoping to do something along those lines.

Not that there was much reason to worry, but the Nationals will be officially signing their No. 1 draft pick less than one week after selecting him.

Eli Willits, the 17-year-old shortstop from Oklahoma who became the first player in the country drafted Sunday night, will be at Nationals Park today to formally sign his first professional contract, then be introduced both to media during an afternoon press conference and then to fans attending tonight’s game against the Padres.

MASN will televise the press conference live at 3:15 p.m.

It’s a quick turnaround for both Willits and the Nats, who agreed to a deal in short order. Terms of that deal aren’t yet known, but Willits is expected to sign for less than Major League Baseball’s suggested slot value for the No. 1 pick of $11,075,900, a move that appears to have allowed the club to go above-slot on multiple later-round picks.

The Nationals surprised some in the baseball world when they chose Willits over fellow Oklahoma high school shortstop Ethan Holliday and LSU left-hander Kade Anderson. But in a wide-open draft with no consensus best player, the Nats believe Willits was as good (if not better) than the other options and came with the added prospect of financial flexibility.

For four months, Derek Law tried to get his arm ready to pitch in the major leagues, hoping the setbacks he experienced along the way could finally be overcome. Until the veteran Nationals reliever was told last week he has a partial tear of the flexor tendon in his right elbow, at which point hope turned to acceptance.

Law will undergo surgery soon to repair the tear, a procedure that will prevent him from pitching this season and likely sideline him until early-to-mid 2026. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the 34-year-old, who wanted to believe all along he’d be able to contribute to the Nats in 2025 but has now resigned himself to the fact he can’t.

“It was already hard enough to miss Opening Day this year. And then you hear that,” he said. “I needed every bit of five days to figure out in my head what the heck’s going on, the downtime I’m going to miss.”

The workhorse of the Nationals' bullpen, Law made 75 appearances and pitched 90 innings last season, the highest total by any of the team’s relievers since Tyler Clippard in 2010. He did so while missing two weeks in late-August with a flexor strain, an injury he rebounded from to close out the season with no real issues.

Law never could get his arm right this season, though. After a delayed build-up in spring training, he began experiencing elbow soreness, so he opened the year on the injured list. That turned into a much longer process than initially envisioned, with Law eventually making four appearances in minor league rehab games over the last month but unable to emerge from those sessions without a return of the elbow pain.

The gentlemen in charge of the Nationals’ draft war room Sunday night all made the same point, in their own various words, about the ultimate decision to use the No. 1 pick on Eli Willits. They all were adamant he was the choice, no dissension in the room.

Vice president of amateur scouting Danny Haas: “I think there was general consensus for a while, and it solidified into unanimous toward the end of our process.”

Assistant scouting director/national crosschecker Reed Dunn: “I’m really proud of the work everybody did to come together. And, as Danny said, to make a unanimous decision on somebody we truly believe in.”

Senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek: “We scouted the entire class. We were prepared. And then ultimately when we ended up winning the lottery, we knew exactly who we needed to hone in on, who we needed to do more work on.”

Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo: “It was one of those nice things where the scouts and the analysts see things the exact same way and saw him as the best hitter in the draft, the best fielder in the draft, with just great makeup, great work ethic and all the intangibles. Everything came together, and it was a really collaborative and great process.”

In the end, the Nationals went with the other talented shortstop from Oklahoma whose father played in the big leagues.

The Nats selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick in tonight’s Major League Baseball Draft, a choice that may have surprised some but became increasingly possible over the last week both because of the 17-year-old’s all-around skills and the suspicion he might command a lower signing bonus than either Ethan Holliday or Kade Anderson, possibly opening the door for the club to go over slot on later-round picks.

Owners of the top selection in the draft for the third time in club history, the Nationals faced a much tougher decision this time than they did when last they found themselves in this position. Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010) were no-brainers, two of the most highly touted prospects in the history of the sport.

The list of viable options was much longer this year, with Willits joined by fellow Oklahoma high school infielder Holliday, LSU left-hander Anderson, Tennessee lefty Liam Doyle and California high school right-hander Seth Hernandez all meriting consideration down to the wire, according to a source familiar with the club’s deliberations.

Willits, who admitted he made it his personal goal to be drafted No. 1 overall two years ago, was optimistic about his chances after he visited Nationals Park last month and got a chance to meet team executives and coaches. That didn't diminish his emotions when he officially got the call today.

MILWAUKEE – If the Nationals were going to head into the All-Star break on a positive note, they had an uphill climb to battle.

Already having struggled this weekend against Brewers pitching, facing right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was selected for the upcoming All-Star Game but will not pitch in it, may have proved to be the Nats’ toughest challenge yet.

And they were shorthanded heading into the matchup, with their two best hitters sidelined before the game even started. For the first time in 174 games since he made his major league debut, James Wood was not in the starting lineup, the struggling All-Star slugger getting some extra rest before tomorrow’s Home Run Derby.

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

Then 30 minutes before first pitch, CJ Abrams was scratched from the starting lineup, with Paul DeJong taking over at shortstop and batting fourth. The Nats announced during the game (a change from the team’s policy under the previous regime) that the young shortstop was scratched with minor right shoulder soreness, which he first experienced on Saturday.