Newest Washington Nationals Slugger Wants To Mesh Power, Patience at Plate
Washington Nationals fans had to be getting nervous when they saw so many first basemen agreeing to deals in free agency or being traded.
It was one of the positions that the team was hoping to upgrade this offseason, but available options were quickly dwindling.
In a 24-hour period over the weekend, Christian Walker signed with the Houston Astros, Carlos Santana signed with the Cleveland Guardians, the Guardians traded Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Paul Goldschmidt signed with the New York Yankees.
But, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo didn’t panic, making a move that he would regret. Such as throwing an exorbitant contract at free agent Pete Alonso, which would have required a massive overpay to pry him away from the endless money supply of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.
Instead, he made a shrewd move with the Texas Rangers, acquiring Nathaniel Lowe in exchange for left-handed relief pitcher Robert Garcia.
While the trade thins out a bullpen that was already lacking experienced options even more, it was a worthwhile move to fill the first base void.
Lowe presents a sizable upgrade over what the team had at the corner infield spot in 2024, as Joey Meneses, Joey Gallo and Juan Yepez combined for a 0.4 WAR.
Even as a part-time player with the Tampa Bay Rays to begin his career, the team’s new first baseman had a 0.4 WAR. Since becoming an everyday player with the Rangers in 2021, he has recorded a WAR of at least 2.3 in every campaign.
With a Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove Award already on his resume, he is a solid two-way player that is improving in most facets of his game. He gets on base at a great clip with an above-average walk rate.
But, it has come at the expense of some power.
Over the last two seasons, Lowe has recorded his lowest home run percentages of his career with 2.3 in 2023 and 2.8 in 2024. His hard-hit percentages have dropped as well to a career-low 40.2% this past year.
That is something he is looking to change in 2025, as he wants to return to his previous levels of power production without sacrificing his plate discipline, as shared by Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post.
The biggest takeaway, for me, from Nathaniel Lowe's introductory news conference: He's looking to get back to power production with the Nationals, without abandoning his eye at the plate. pic.twitter.com/yKJrDLUxst
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) December 23, 2024
For his career, Lowe has a 162-game average of 21 home runs and 27 doubles with 78 RBI. That kind of run production will fit in well with an emerging Washington squad that needed a little veteran leadership infused into the mix.
His 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 69 RBI are the single-season low points of his career since becoming a starter; those all would have been top-six numbers on the Nationals in 2024.
If he can succeed in his goal of mixing power and patience at the plate, there is a chance that he will lead the team in all three categories in 2025.
