Stone

Garrett

Good for Garrett, who hit just three homers in 79 minor league games this season as he made his way back from a broken leg. The Nats called him up Tuesday and could send him right back down with Andrés Chapparo set to return from the paternity list. Hopefully, though, this will get him a chance to stay with the team through the weekend

13 months after suffering a broken leg, Garrett has finally returned to the majors. He hit .269/.343/.457 in 89 games for the Nationals before getting hurt last season, but this year was mostly a struggle for him, and though he did pick it up in July and August, he finished poorly for Rochester this month. Overall, he hit .249/.348/.333 with just three homers in 79 minor league games. It’s possible he’ll only have a roster spot while Andrés Chaparro is on the paternity list.

Garrett got off to a brutal start as he was making his way back from last year’s broken leg, but he’s been great recently, hitting .372/.462/.577 in his last 24 games. The Nationals don’t really have a role for him with Alex Call playing so well, but he deserves another shot at some point.

Manager Dave Martinez acknowledged that the trade was being finalized but didn’t go into depth on his plans to replace Thomas. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see Dylan Crews right away. Stone Garrett has really picked it up of late after a miserable first couple of months back from a broken leg and could get the call to share time with Call. Joey Gallo could also be a right field option at some point during August.

Garrett was headed to Triple-A Rochester on a rehab assignment anyway, so this is merely a procedural move. The 28-year-old outfielder is going to need an extended stint in the minors to get back into form after undergoing surgery last August to repair a fractured fibula in his left leg. He figures to be an option for the Nationals outfield mix in a couple weeks once he’s had time to properly ramp up.

Garrett is still working his way back from last year’s left ankle surgery and will need some extra time to get ready before making his season debut.

Garrett fractured his fibula while making a catch in the outfield in August and subsequently underwent surgery on both his fibula and his ankle at the end of that month. According to the outfielder, he started hitting at the beginning of December and had been “running on the treadmill for about a month now.” He’s “been trying to incorporate some explosive movements” and is “feeling pretty good.” However, general manager Mike Rizzo is eyeing a more cautious approach: “We’ll take all the measurements and all the physical testing…and then the eye test: Is the stride the same? Is the stride length the same? Is he favoring it at all? And then it comes down to — if he passes all those tests, when you have to go from rehabbing to working out, to instinctively, [at] game speed, making it work, that’s often when you tell, and he’ll know when he does it with no fear.” The Nationals have stated that Garrett is certainly in their plans for 2024 and beyond, but it’s just a question of whether he’ll be able to be on the field when the season starts.

Sure, why not? Gallo wound up at .177/.301/.440 in 332 plate appearances for the Twins last season, but that was still good enough for a 101 OPS+. Unfortunately, his outfield defense has declined, making it tougher to stick with him when he’s in one of his particularly ugly slumps. The 30-year-old will probably be penciled in as the left fielder against right-handers initially, but he could shift to first base if Stone Garrett shows up healthy and builds on what he was starting to do last year.

The 27-year-old outfielder had already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season. He’ll won’t be able to put any load-bearing pressure on that leg for the next six weeks before starting his rehab and recovery. He should be ready to go for the start of spring training.

The move clears a spot for the newly-added Jacob Young on the 40-man roster. Garrett suffered a fractured left fibula at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday and can now be ruled out for the remainder of the season.