Seattle Mariners AL West Rivals Trade Starting First Baseman to Washington Nationals
The Seattle Mariners have had an uncharacteristically quiet offseason. While the Mariners have stood pat, they've watched an influx of first base transactions from Dec. 20-21 that took Paul Goldschmidt, Josh Naylor, Carlos Santana and Christian Walker off the board for them.
Whether it's due to payroll restrictions, steep trade proposals, waiting for some other pieces to fall into place or some combination of the three, Seattle is still looking for a first baseman, second baseman or third baseman more than two months deep in the offseason.
But while the Mariners have been quiet, the American League West as a whole has been one of the more active divisions this offseason.
And the Texas Rangers made another move on Dec. 22.
ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan was first to report that the Washington Nationals had acquired first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from Texas in return for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia.
The Washington Nationals are finalizing a trade to acquire first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 22, 2024
The Nationals were one of the only teams left in the league aside from Seattle that entered the offseason with a need at first base and had yet to address it.
Lowe is coming off a solid season in 2024 where he hit .265 to go with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs. Lowe hasn't hit below .262 and has knocked at least 16 homers in four consecutive seasons.
The former Mississippi State product is set to earn $10.7 million in his third year of arbitration, per Spotrac. He'll have one more year of arbitration in 2026 before hitting free agency in 2027.
Nathaniel Lowe crushes the second @Rangers home run of the 1st inning. ☄️ pic.twitter.com/FFSxwBhxct
— MLB (@MLB) September 8, 2024
In Garcia's second year of major league action, he posted a 4.22 ERA in 72 appearances with 75 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched. He was second on the Nationals in appearances in 2024 behind Derek Law and was tied for seventh in outings in the National League.
The move seems similar to a salary dump for the Rangers, and opens the door for additional offseason trade acquisition Jake Burger to take the reins at first base.
It was unlikely for Texas to trade a key contributor to a division rival, but this also means that there's one less option at first base for the Mariners.
But it also means that there's one less key contributor for Seattle to compete against in the AL West.
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