The weekend of First Basemen continues: Rangers trade Nathaniel Lowe to Nationals

On December 23, 2024By Littum

On Friday, Christian Walker agreed to a three-year deal with the Houston Astros. Little did we know it would set off a huge run at first baseman, in free agency and trade. Walker signed, then Paul Goldschmidt signed with the Yankees, Josh Naylor was traded to the Diamondbacks, Carlos Santana signed with the Guardians, and now Nathaniel Lowe has been traded.

Jeff Passan had hinted at more to come, then broke down the Lowe trade talks:

During the last 24 hours:

Christian Walker to Houston
Paul Goldschmidt to the New York Yankees
Josh Naylor to Arizona
Carlos Santana to Cleveland

1B still available in free agency: Pete Alonso, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Ty France. In trades: LaMonte Wade Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) 21 December 2024

The Washington Nationals are closing in on a trade to acquire first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) 22 December 2024

Left-handed reliever Robert Garcia is headed from the Nationals to the Rangers in the Nathaniel Lowe trade, sources tell ESPN.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) 22 December 2024

Lowe, 29, is a career .272/.356/.433/122 wRC+ hitter for the Rangers, who recently acquired Jake Burger and might give him a look at first. Lowe still has two years of arbitration left, and was projected to earn upwards of $11 million by 2025, so there was probably some financial motivation here.

Still, the Rangers figure to get a nice return from the Nationals (Garcia is a really good wind as a pre-arb reliever who looked like a potential breakout last year…is he?), given that Lowe has been worth between 2.7 and 3.1 WAR each of the last three seasons.

The Nationals could conceivably look to spin him off at this year’s deadline or in the offseason, depending on how their young team goes. If a whole lot clicks at the same time, it can actually end up being a strong offense.

As for the other first basemen, I don’t know if this run will continue. Guys like Anthony Rizzo and Josh Bell have some warts, Pete Alonso is in a different market level and might really have to wait, and I have no idea what the Giants want with LaMonte Wade Jr.