Nats, Garrett start holiday season by giving back

Stone Garrett Turkeypalooza

The 2023 holiday season officially kicked off yesterday with Thanksgiving, but the Nationals got a head start to the season of giving earlier this week.

This week Washington Nationals Philanthropies hosted Turkeypalooza, its now sixth annual food distribution event across the D.C. area.

“Turkeypalooza is an annual event that Washington Nationals Philanthropies hosts, in partnership with BetMGM now for the second year,” said Tal Alter, CEO of Nationals Philanthropies. “We're going to distribute 900 turkeys over the next few days, which means 3,600 different meal units being presented to members of the community who are unfortunately food insecure. At this time of year, it's just incredibly important for everyone to be able to celebrate the holidays with dignity, and food is the fundamental piece of that.”

The event started on Monday in front of the BetMGM sportsbook outside Nationals Park with volunteers handing out turkeys and bags filled with shelf-stable items and fresh produce. Nats outfielder Stone Garrett was even in attendance to help out with the distribution.

“Our fans support us all season long, so to give back to the community, it means a lot,” Garrett said. “It means a lot, especially during the holiday season.”

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Millas and Ribalta representing Nats at AFL Fall Stars Game

Arizona Fall League generic stadium

As the World Series shifts back to Houston to wrap up the 2022 major league season, the Arizona Fall League enters the last week of its short campaign.

The final week of the AFL kicks off this weekend with the 16th annual Fall Stars Game, and two Nationals prospects were chosen to the National League roster: catcher Drew Millas and right-hander Orlando Ribalta.

Millas, the 24-year-old acquired by the Nationals at the 2021 trade deadline as part of a three-prospect package from the Athletics in exchange for Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison, has had an impressive month in Arizona. He leads the Peoria Javelinas with a .314 average, .529 slugging percentage, .862 OPS and five doubles. He has also hit two homers with 13 RBIs and a .333 on-base percentage in 13 games.

The No. 30 prospect in the Nats system, per MLB Pipeline, rose through the minor league ranks this summer. Starting the season with Single-A Fredericksburg, he earned two promotions to Double-A Harrisburg after two stops at High-A Wilmington.

Between the three affiliates, Millas slashed .225/.340/.350 with a .690 OPS, 14 doubles, two triples, six homers, 36 RBIs, eight stolen bases and 51 walks.

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