On Tuesday, several reporters announced that the Washington Nationals had a deal with outfielder Stone Garrett, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
A day later, the Nats made it official: they are taking a chance on a young outfielder with incredible power and some sneaky speed, but with notorious contact issues.
It was a deal worth making for the Nats, of course, as they are in talent evaluation mode.
“And the team just announced the deal. Seems similar to when the Nationals signed Kyle Finnegan and Sam Clay to major league deals, jumping over the minor league free agent market to land a guy they like with six years of control. Depth addition,” Nats insider Jesse Dougherty tweeted.
And the team just announced the deal. Seems similar to when the Nationals signed Kyle Finnegan and Sam Clay to major league deals, jumping over the minor league free agent market to land a guy they like with six years of control. Depth addition. https://t.co/IGurzsHOyF
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) November 29, 2022
The Nationals finished the 2022 season with the worst record in the majors, at 55-107, so acquiring top-notch talent is not as easy for them.
Most of the top free agents probably don’t want to go to Washington to be on a rebuilding team, so they need to think outside the box to develop depth and catch lightning in a bottle with a potentially impactful regular, like Joey Meneses seems to be, for example.
The Nats Can Afford To Give Garrett A Chance
The Nats have populated the minor leagues with top prospects resulting from the deal for Juan Soto and Josh Bell this year and Max Scherzer and Trea Turner last season.
Now, they have to coach and develop that talent, but also look outside the organization for good players who may not have a concrete opportunity to get playing time elsewhere.
This is the case of Garrett, who can hit for power but was buried in the outfield depth chart of the D-Backs.
Because of his, he was designated for assignment.
He hit 28 Triple-A homers and four in MLB in Arizona, and Washington is willing to give him a chance to win a spot.
Will he get it?
