The Nationals announced that outfielder Stone Garrett has cleared outright waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. He had been designated for assignment last week. He’ll remain with the Nats but will no longer take up a spot on the 40-man roster.
Garrett, 29, has shown some flashes of offensive potential in his career. That made him a somewhat surprising DFA recipient when the Nats officially re-signed Kyle Finnegan last week and many fans expected him to be quickly snatched up by some other club. However, there are also some downsides in his profile that make it understandable why teams balked at grabbing him off waivers.
It is true that Garrett has a career batting line of .276/.341/.492 in the big leagues, which translates to a 125 wRC+. However, that came in a somewhat small sample size of 361 plate appearances spread across three separate seasons. His .369 batting average on balls in play is heavily to the lucky side, with typical league average usually being in the .290-.300 range. He also struck out in 30.2% of those plate appearances.
His minor league production has been more modest. Over the past four years, he has a .271/.331/.488 slash line and 107 wRC+ on the farm. His 7.5% walk rate and 26.2% strikeout rate in that sample are both subpar numbers.
Major league clubs likely considered his big league production to be at least partly a mirage and unlikely to be sustained. That was likely true before a significant injury and lackluster return. In August of 2023, Garrett suffered a scary injury when he leaped in attempt to catch a DJ LeMahieu home run at Yankee Stadium. In colliding with the wall, he hurt his leg and needed to be carted off the field. It was later announced that he had a fractured left fibula. Garrett was back on the field in 2024 but hit just .247/.338/.336 for a WRC+ of 82 in his 71 Triple-A games.
Put together, Garrett was likely viewed as a decent hitter but one whose results outpaced his actual talents. Factor in the notable leg injury and tepid numbers in his return last year, and his stock was a bit down. That nudged him off Washington’s roster and none of the other 29 clubs were willing to give him a spot.
Since he has less than three years of service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. The Nats will go into the season with a projected outfield of James Wood, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young in starting roles, with Alex Call likely on the bench. Robert Hassell III is also on the 40-man while Franchy Cordero is an experienced major leaguer who is in the system on a minor league deal. If Garrett is added back to the roster at any point, he still has options remaining.
“Nationals openly pelt Garrett with rocks.”
Surprised he went unclaimed and/or the Nats couldn’t find a trade partner.
I love how much freedom this guy probably had in school because of his name, which is cool by the way. He could have either put a stone in his chair, named it Garrett, and then left (so technically stone Garrett or Stone Garrett is at school either way), or he could’ve stayed in his seat and been quiet, because stone’s done talk. Now his teacher could’ve come back with “stones don’t talk, but Garrett‘s do.” But then he could’ve written back with “actually Garrett’s write.” Then his teacher could’ve said “well if Garrett’s can write, how about you come and write the answer on the board?” And he could’ve replied with, in writing “but Garrett’s can’t move with stones under them.” And then she’d reply, “well write the answer on your paper then and show the class.” And he could come back with, “sorry, this stone is giving Garrett anxiety, and Garrett can’t think with all this anxiety. I’m also freaking out cause I’m gonna GET AN F!!!” And then Stone Garrett got home schooled.
His first name is actually Gregory. Don’t know why he uses his middle name. So many people use their middle names as first names these days. Willard Romney and Rafael Cruz come to mind.
“My dad’s nickname was Rock. … He says they called him Rock because his brothers were older, and he was the tough kid playing football in the street with the older kids. So they were like, ‘This dude’s a rock.’ That’s how I got Stone. We used to have a dog named Pebbles, a cocker spaniel. So Gregory Stone Garrett, but the second I was born, it’s always been Stone. My mom wanted to name me after my dad — that’s where Gregory came from — and my dad wanted me to be Stone.”
Per MLB.com
George Thomas Seaver.
Surprised that no one took this guy.
Not that surprised. Any team that adds him has to outright one of their own players. 3 weeks into Spring Training, most teams don’t have an open slot on the 40 man roster.
He always has his Pearl Jam guitarist gig to fallback on.
In other words, he dropped like a rock.
A rock is a large mass of minerals, while a stone is a piece of rock that has been broken off. Rocks are found in the earth’s crust, while stones are often used as building materials. I wonder if there is a big difference in the way they ‘drop.”?