Friday, Christian Walker agreed to a three-year deal with the Houston Astros. Little did we know that was going to kick off a tremendous run on 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 implied more was coming, and then broke the Lowe trade talks:
Over the last 24 hours:Christian Walker to HoustonPaul Goldschmidt to the New York YankeesJosh Naylor to Arizona Carlos Santana to Cleveland1B still available in free agency: Pete Alonso, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Ty France. In trades: LaMonte Wade Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2024The Washington Nationals are finalizing a trade to acquire first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 22, 2024Left-handed reliever Robert Garcia is headed from the Nationals to the Rangers in the Nathaniel Lowe trade, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 22, 2024Lowe, 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 has two more years of arbitration remaining, and was projected to make upwards of $11 million in 2025, so there was probably a little financial motivation here.
Still, the Rangers figure to get a nice return from the Nationals (Garcia is a really nice get as a pre-arb reliever who looked like a potential breakout last year … is he it, though?), 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 things go for their young team. If a whole lot clicks at the same time, that could actually wind up being a strong offense.
As for the other first basemen, I don’t know whether this run will continue. Guys like Anthony Rizzo and Josh Bell have some warts, Pete Alonso is in a different market tier and might really have to wait, and I have no clue what the Giants want to do with LaMonte Wade Jr.
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