In case you have not really been paying attention to what's going on around the league recently, you might not be very familiar with the saga of the Boston Red Sox and their dire situation at first base. After losing Triston Casas to a season-ending injury a few weeks ago, they began to figure out alternatives at the position, including asking their star slugger Rafael Devers to move to the position.
Devers was in a similar situation in spring training after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, who is far superior with the glove at third base than Devers, and Devers made it known that he was to be relucant to move off of his natural position. Nonetheless, cooler heads prevailed, and Devers was eventually told to put his glove away this season as he was going to become a full-time designated hitter.
After Devers got off to a brutal start at the plate, rumors began to swirl that he was unhappy about the shift to being a permanent DH, but then he got on a tear that made that tough start seem like a distant memory. After Casas went down, Devers was asked about possibly moving to first base, which he frustratingly replied that he had already put his glove away for the season.
That leads us to now, where the Red Sox have put out a mixture of subpar guys to man first base, in an effort to replace Casas. None of those names have really done much with their opportunity, and it's clear the Red Sox were looking to upgrade the position, before trading for Ryan Noda.
So how does this all relate to the Nationals? It has been widely speculated that the Red Sox made a call to the Nationals to gauge interest on first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who is in his first season with the club. Lowe came over in December from the Texas Rangers in exchange for lefty reliever Robert Garcia, and has been better than a lot of the other names the club has rolled out over the last few years.
While Lowe's average and OPS has been below his career marks, he does have 8 homers and 34 RBIs, which ranks 2nd and 1st on the club to this point of the season, respectively. Besides being a recent acquisition, Lowe is also under contract through the end of next season, making him a potentially attractive trade chip given the extra control.
Would the Nationals actually deal Lowe? At this point, it seems highly unlikely. With the deadline still over 2 months away and the Nationals not seeming like they are going to completely bottom out in 2025, it really doesn't make a ton of sense for the club to look to trade him this summer.
Given that the club doesn't have anyone ready in the minors that could step in and adequately replace him at first base yet, it seems pretty far-fetched that the club actually will trade him. Next summer is another story, as perhaps a young guy like Yohandy Morales will be ready to take over, or perhaps even James Wood moves to first base if the other young Nationals' outfielders like Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile can come up and prove they belong around Dylan Crews in the outfield of the future.
While Wood moving to first is a question for down the line, it is really interesting to hear that Lowe is already generating trade interest, and if he can pick it up, it could be really interesting to see if Mike Rizzo could get a nice package for him early on with the extra control. Again, I won't count on him being traded, but if the return makes sense and a logical and adequate replacement is ready, there's a world where it could happen.
What do you think of the reported trade interest from other teams in Nathaniel Lowe? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.