Washington Nationals Select Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher Evan Reifert in Rule 5 Draft

The Washington Nationals have had a busy 24 hours of draft news, as they won the lottery and then decided to select a player in the 2024 Rule 5 draft with their No. 5 overall selection by taking right-handed Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Evan Reifert.

Since this a Rule 5 selection, Reifert will now need to stay on the Nationals' MLB roster for the entirety of the 2025 season or else he will be forfeited back to the Rays.

Washington will pay $100,000 to select the pitcher, but will receive $50,000 in return if he goes back to Tampa Bay.

Reifert has not risen up the ranks of the minor leagues as quickly as hoped for, so it is not too surprising that he wasn't protected from the draft.

He was stellar at the Double-A level last year, though, so it is also understandable why Washington wanted to take the risk on him.

Over 41 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen last season, he posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.919 WHIP with 14.2 K/9.

He has also been a high-strikeout pitcher, but always struggled with control and health.

The 25-year-old has an impressive fastball-slider combo that makes him an intriguing bullpen option this season. He has always had a real issue with walks that he at least had a meaningful improvement with this year.

He averaged a career-best 3.5 BB/9, but had a career-low 4.8 H/9 so it was very manageable.

The 6-foot-4 righty will slot in to a Nationals bullpen that is desperate to improve after a disappointing campaign in 2024 where they ranked 21st last season with a 4.14 ERA.

A big weakness of the bullpen was strikeouts; they had the fourth-fewest of any MLB pen.

Washington receivers were also solid when it came to walks, so they can afford the fluctuation of Reifert's game.