The Washington Nationals have been extremely busy so far in the 2025 offseason. It makes a ton of sense, given how large of a laundry list the organization had to complete heading into this winter, but at this point it's honestly fair to say the franchise has gotten off to a great start.
First, new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni was brought on, and he cleaned house in a major way. After hiring a bunch of up and coming young minds to work alongside him in the new front office, Toboni brought on Blake Butera to be the new manager, who was introduced last week to the media.
Fast forward to recent days, and speculation has already begun about what free agents the Nationals will look to bring in, as the club already has their first signing of the offseason out of the way. So what about checking in on a former National that also so happened to be with Toboni's former organization, the Boston Red Sox?
In case it wasn't obvious by now with that description and from the cover image of this article, the subject I wanted to discuss is Nathaniel Lowe. Truthfully, given that Lowe was still a member of the Texas Rangers organization and barely over a year removed from a World Series title exactly 1 year ago today is pretty wild to think about.
Obviously, a ton has changed since then, as Lowe was traded to the Nationals in late December just before Christmas, and played out his tenure with the Nationals before being designated for assignment back in August in the midst of an extremely subpar campaign. Simply put, Lowe and the Nationals were just not a match made in heaven, and he was thought to be on to better times with the Red Sox.
After getting off to a hot start with the Red Sox and finishing the 2026 season with them, Lowe was actually just designated for assignment again last week ahead of the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline, before he was eventually non-tendered. Now, this could be for a number of reasons, as the Red Sox were likely trying to clear up a few spots in order to add younger options to their 40-man roster, but it also seems like a financially-motivated decision.
As was the case when the Nationals chose to cut ties with Lowe, the team knew they were going to be on the hook for over $10M in salary for the 2026 season, and given his cumulative numbers he displayed last year, there is no chance Lowe will get picked up for that figure. Now, he could end up getting picked up by another team, but it seems much more likely he will have to settle for a prove-it deal in hopes of being able to cash in again next year.
What do you think of Nathaniel Lowe getting DFA'd again? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.