This Nat returned to his old stomping grounds

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Chase Field was empty last season when the D-backs returned from a road trip to San Francisco the evening of Aug. 18. Outfielder Stone Garrett made his Major League debut the previous day at Oracle Park, and he arrived in Phoenix on the verge of playing in his first home game in the big leagues.

Garrett and starting left-hander Tommy Henry, whom Garrett considers his best friend on the D-backs, emerged from the dugout onto the vacant field together. Garrett walked over to home plate. He paused. In the barely lit stadium, he saw a vision clearly.

“I just imagined myself hitting a home run -- and then I ran around the bases,” Garrett said. “That was fun.”

Ten days later, Garrett would belt his first Major League homer on the road against White Sox starter Dylan Cease. The following night on Aug. 29, he went yard for the first time at Chase Field, down the left-field line against Phillies reliever Brad Hand.

“I’m big on envisioning and imagining something happening and playing it out in my head,” Garrett said. “I think it was good to get out there when it was empty and quiet, before the fans get into the stadium, and just play it out in my head before it actually happened.”

That memory was vividly on Garrett’s mind when he returned to Chase Field this weekend as a member of the Nationals. He signed with Washington in late November after being designated for assignment by Arizona earlier that month.

“It feels good to be back,” said Garrett, who lives close to Phoenix in the offseason. “Last year, this was my home stadium. Obviously, I’ve got a bunch of guys I played with over there coming up in Double-A, Triple-A and then playing with them in the big leagues last year, so it’s going to be fun to see them.”

Among those he was reunited with was Henry. On Saturday, the friends were in opposing starting lineups in the Nationals’ 8-7 loss to the D-backs. Garrett went 1-for-3 against his pal, including a single and a stolen base.

“Stone is my best friend in pro ball, so last year if you would have told me I was going to be pitching against him, I kind of would have laughed,” Henry said. “But the fact that I'm pitching against him means we're both in the big leagues, and he's having success, and so it was fun. I had some good laughs. I'll share some texts with him or hopefully catch up with him before tomorrow's game …

“There was as much friendly competition as possible within the confines of the game. I didn't say anything to him, but I could -- by the looks he gave me -- tell what he was thinking, and we were sending messages to each other back and forth.”

A season after Garrett and Henry looked out into the stadium to envision their futures, Garrett walked off the same field during batting practice on Friday toward the Nationals' dugout. On his way, a fan in Arizona gear called out his name. He was hoping Garrett could autograph the baseball he was holding.

It was the last home run ball Garrett hit at Chase Field as a member of the D-backs.

"[The D-backs are] the guys that gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues," said Garrett. "That means a lot to me, obviously."