The Washington Nationals are still in talent evaluation mode.
They are scanning the market and their own minor leagues to see which players are worthy of getting not only roster spots for the 2023 campaign, but who deserves consistent playing time.
Their search returned a cheap outfielder on a one-year deal.
“The Nationals have signed outfielder Stone Garrett to a one-year, major-league contract. Garrett, who was recently let go by the Diamondbacks, hit 28 homers in 103 games in Triple-A last season. A rock solid pickup,” FanSided’s Robert Murray tweeted.
The Nationals have signed outfielder Stone Garrett to a one-year, major-league contract. Garrett, who was recently let go by the Diamondbacks, hit 28 homers in 103 games in Triple-A last season. A rock solid pickup.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) November 29, 2022
Besides the 28 home runs in Triple-A, Garrett hit four more with the Arizona Diamondbacks in MLB.
The 27-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment by the D-Backs in mid-November due to their extreme logjam of outfielders.
The reason why Arizona couldn’t afford to give him the chance he deserved is because of his mediocre plate discipline.
In 84 plate appearances in MLB, he had a mediocre 3/27 BB/K ratio.
He Has Some Serious Power, But Also Contact Issues
Despite his issues making consistent contact and drawing walks, he did slash .276/.309/.539 with four homers, 10 RBI and three stolen bases.
He has a good chance of securing consistent playing time in the mediocre Nationals lineup, and with that being the case, he will have ample chances of developing into a legitimate MLB power threat.
Garrett has always struck out a lot, but never at the rate he did last year in his short MLB cameo.
The Nationals give him a unique chance of establishing himself as a big league-caliber hitter and player.
It’s up to him to take advantage of that chance by cutting his strikeout rate, increasing his walk rate, and maintaining his power production.
