Nationals' shocking DFA should be the Pirates' newest outfield target

Although the Pirates' addition of Tommy Pham appeared to complete their starting outfield, there is still room to add on the roster. Just in time, the Nationals decided to designate Stone Garrett for assignment, which comes as a surprise, given his potential offensive upside.

The Washington outfield is a bit crowded with talent, so he really did not have a spot moving forward after spending 2024 recovering from a significant injury setback. This represents a great opportunity for the Pirates to add to their group.

Joshua Palacios is out of minor league options, Jack Suwinski is questionable coming off a poor 2025, and Ji Hwan Bae is not a trustworthy option out there. The argument could earily be made to add Garrett to the mix; in his first real test in the big leagues in 2023, he performed very well and posted metrics similar to those of Oneil Cruz.

Pirates should take a chance on Nationals high upside DFA decision in Stone Garrett

Garrett also seems like a player that could truly be worked on by Matt Hague. What he accomplished in Toronto, inducing high contact rates from his offense, really makes it seem like he can turn Cruz into a star player, cutting down the troublesome whiffs in the process. Garrett had similar (seemingly correctable) issues in Hague's wheelhouse, so why not add the guy with the huge ceiling?

In 2023 with the Nationals, Garrett got 234 at-bats and belted nine home runs and 17 doubles to generate a slugging percentage of .457. That paired with an on-base percentage of .343 to create a solid .801 OPS. His wRC+ was above average at 116, but his downfall was his 30.3% strikeout percentage.

His metrics were also impressive, as he posted an average exit velocity of 91.1 mph, a barrel rate of 9.6%, and a hard-hit clip of 48.4%. All of those totals were above average, and only his 33.6% chase rate and 32.6% whiff rate put up major red flags. If he could cut that down, he could be a very quality major leaguer.

The high ceiling should definitely result in some Pirates interest here. It may be a high risk move, but banking on him to drop his strikeout problems down in the Hague offense may flip his career around. On top of all else, Garrett has two minor-league options remaining as well, which would be very helpful if he didn't make the roster coming out of camp. There's no reason not to take a chance here.