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Red Sox reportedly finalizing deal with 1B Nathaniel Lowe
Lowe was designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals earlier in August.
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The Red Sox are on the verge of adding a first baseman with six weeks remaining in the regular season.
Boston and Nathaniel Lowe are reportedly finalizing a contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Lowe, 30, was designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals on Aug. 14.
The Red Sox had shown interest in landing Lowe following his DFA, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported over the weekend. It’s evident that the club had been interested in adding a first baseman after not landing one before last month’s MLB trade deadline.
Lowe is batting .216 with a .665 OPS through 119 games with the Nationals, the lowest such marks of his seven-year MLB career. He’s hit 16 home runs out of 95 total hits and drawn 47 walks to 130 strikeouts.
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In August, Lowe is 3-for-33 at the plate through 11 games.
Lowe’s down 2025 season is an outlier, though. He consistently produced with the Texas Rangers from 2019-24, batting for a .263 average with a .781 OPS to pair over that span. Minus the shortened 2020 season, Lowe’s never finished a season with a batting average below .262.
He was a member of the Rangers’ 2023 World Series championship season, playing in 161 regular season games. Lowe slashed .262/.360/.414 with 17 home runs, 82 RBIs, 89 runs, and 93 walks that year.
In the 2023 playoffs, he appeared in 17 games and went 10-for-66 (.212) with three home runs and six RBIs. Lowe won a Gold Glove that year as well.
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After the 2024 season concluded, Texas dealt Lowe to Washington in exchange for relief pitcher Robert Garcia. It’s easy to wonder if that change in scenery has affected the first baseman’s performance (entering Monday, the Nationals own a 50-74 record and are last in the National League East).
Perhaps a second change in scenery by joining the 68-57 second-place Red Sox will aid Lowe’s mindset at the plate. Per Cotillo, there’s a possibility the left-handed batter will be in Boston’s starting lineup against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
Contract-wise, the Nationals are footing Lowe’s $10.3 million salary this year. Lowe is under team control through 2026. He is arbitration-eligible next year and is set to become a free agent in 2027.
It’s a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Red Sox, who are looking to upgrade first base.
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