The Nationals are looking to boost their offense alongside top young internal talent
The Washington Nationals have acquired first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers in exchange for lefty reliever Robert Garcia, the teams announced Sunday.
Lowe, 29, is a former Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award recipient who won’t qualify for free agency until after the 2026 campaign. Over the last three seasons, he hit .277/.360/.438 (124 OPS+) with 20 home runs on average. His contributions were worth a total of 8.5 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference’s estimates.
Lowe will slot into what should be an improved Nationals lineup. Washington ranked 25th in runs scored and 24th in wRC+, a catch-all metric housed at FanGraphs that adjusts for ballpark and other variables. While Lowe is the first external addition the Nationals have made to their starting lineup, they ought to benefit from having young outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews in their lineup for a full season.
In Garcia, Texas has added a capable reliever whose 4.22 ERA understates his talent. Across 59 innings last season, he averaged 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.69 strikeouts per walk. Garcia, a low-slot lefty, relies heavily on a fastball-changeup combination that both feature appreciable armside movement.
The Rangers moving Lowe also means freeing up funds for other potential pursuits, even after acquiring Jake Burger earlier this offseason from the Miami Marlins. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projection model at MLB Trade Rumors has Lowe making $10.7 million next season.
Lowe is the latest in a weekend full of first basemen on the move. On Saturday alone, the New York Yankees signed veteran Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year pact and the Cleveland Guardians both traded their incumbent first sacker (Josh Naylor, to the Arizona Diamondbacks) and signed an old friend in Carlos Santana.
