Red Sox expected to be in the mix for former Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe

The Red Sox wanted to add a bat at the MLB trade deadline, but instead added left-hander Steven Matz and right-hander Dustin May. With the deadline in the rearview mirror, Boston might not be done adding external pieces to help fortify their roster for the final stretch of the season.

Boston is expected to be in the mix with a handful of teams to sign first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals earlier this week. Washington is in the process of issuing the left-handed slugger his unconditional release. 

“We have young players, and I think we want to see them play,” Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo said earlier this week after the team designated Lowe assignment. “We want to see what they can do in the last month, month and a half.”

Lowe should become a free agent in the next 48 hours and will be allowed to sign with any club.

The Sox have been platooning Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro at first base this season after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. If Lowe signs with the Red Sox, he will get a prorated portion of the league minimum. He will get the remainder of his $10.3 million salary from the Nationals no matter what team he elects to sign with in the coming days. Lowe will be able to pick from a crop of teams with playoff aspirations and help a contender down the stretch.

The 30-year-old had a down year for the Nationals, who acquired him from the Rangers last December. He hit just .216 with 16 homers and 68 RBI and owned a .665 OPS. He’s recorded a 26.5% strikeout rate and a career-low 86 wRC+ and -0.8 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

“Sometimes it goes like that, you have an off year,” Cairo said to reporters this week. “He was a true professional. He did his work, he came to the ballpark and expected to do something good. As you can tell, in the last couple of days, he was a little better. Yesterday, he had a really good game.”

The "good game" Cairo was referring to was Lowe hitting his first career grand slam on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4 with four RBI and two walks in his final game with the Nationals.

The former 2022 Silver Slugger winner would be an upgrade over Toro and could platoon with Gonzalez at first base. Lowe is hitting .235 against righties with a 104 wRC+. Against lefties, it’s a completely different story; he’s batting just .174 with a whopping 45 wRC+. A potential change of scenery and playing for a team in the hunt for the postseason could benefit Lowe.

He is no stranger to postseason play and was a member of the Rangers World Series team a few seasons ago.

If the Sox sign Lowe, Toro, who has filled in admirably after Casas went down, could be a DFA candidate. Boston is carrying three catchers on their roster and could cut bait with Ali Sanchez off the 40-man roster for Lowe and potentially keep Toro on the bench. Toro is hitting just .199 in his last 50 games, and Lowe has a much higher ceiling, and Boston would have team control over him next season. 

With the Red Sox front office looking to possibly add Lowe in the coming days, Alex Cora has appreciated what Toro has meant to the club this season.

“He has been amazing for us,” Cora said Saturday before the Sox’ afternoon matchup with the Marlins. “Without him and without Romy in that spot, we’re not in this position. When Casas went down, we got him here, and we started producing. The numbers have cooled down, but the at-bats—yesterday, he put two good at-bats.

“Defensively, he’s done more than enough. I think we have played him more than he thought he would play. We have to make sure we take care of him. But he’s been great. He has been in this situation before with winning teams.”

If Boston fails to land Lowe, they still have Kristian Campbell in Triple-A Worcester, and he could still factor into the mix at first base for the Red Sox. One of his top priorities while with the WooSox has been taking reps and playing games at first base to help carve a path back to the big leagues.

Campbell has been in the minors since June 19 after an up-and-down first two months in the majors. He has been red hot at the plate over the last 23 games, hitting .365 (31-for-85) with five homers, three doubles, 16 RBI, seven walks, and 18 runs scored. Even though he’s crushing Triple-A pitching, Cora still feels the rookie has “work to do down there.”

“It’s the same things he struggled here with,” Cora said to reporters on Friday night prior to the start of the series with the Miami Marlins. “Pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs. That’s something that’s hard because he’s not gonna get that down there. He’s not. The velo here is harder; it’s faster. Locations are on point here. With all due respect to the players down there, the gap is a big gap. Just one of those where we’ve got to keep working. He’s got to keep working and see what the future holds.”

The timing to add Lowe comes at a perfect time for the Red Sox, who remain firmly in the playoff mix, trailing the Mariners by one game for the top wild-card spot and five games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the American League East.