Nathaniel Lowe’s 2025 season didn’t exactly go as planned, but don’t let the final stat line fool you-there’s still value in his game, and teams looking for a veteran left-handed bat should be paying attention.
Let’s rewind a bit. Lowe entered 2025 with the Washington Nationals after being traded from the Texas Rangers in December 2024.
Expectations were modest, but even by those standards, his bat never really caught fire in D.C. He posted a .689 OPS before the Nationals designated him for assignment in mid-August.
That could’ve been the end of his season-but Boston came calling.
The Red Sox signed Lowe on August 18, and while his role was limited, he made the most of it. In 34 games with Boston, Lowe hit .280 with two homers, six doubles, and 16 RBIs.
Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but the timing of his contributions mattered. He delivered a clutch, game-tying home run in the ninth inning against Baltimore and came through with multiple RBI singles in key moments against Toronto.
Boston needed a steady glove and a competitive at-bat at first base down the stretch, and Lowe provided both.
He even earned the starting nod at first base in all three of Boston’s postseason games. Unfortunately, a defensive miscue in October drew some criticism, and the Red Sox ultimately decided to non-tender him in November, making him a free agent.
Now, with the calendar about to flip to 2026, Lowe remains unsigned. But there’s a growing sense that he’s one of the more overlooked options still on the market. Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller made that case earlier this week, pointing out that while Lowe struggled mightily against left-handed pitching in 2025, that shouldn’t completely erase his value.
There’s a path forward here-whether it’s hoping for a bounce-back against southpaws or slotting him into a platoon role where he can focus on right-handed pitching. One intriguing idea floated: pairing Lowe with a veteran like Paul Goldschmidt, who has seen his own splits shift dramatically in recent seasons.
Goldschmidt has posted a .911 OPS against lefties over the past two years, but just .651 against right-handers. That kind of complementary profile could make for a savvy first-base tandem.
Lowe’s full-season numbers in 2025-.228/.307/.381 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs-don’t tell the whole story. Yes, the average dipped and the OPS was underwhelming, but the power was still there, and he drove in runs at a respectable clip.
And let’s not forget the broader body of work. Lowe was drafted by the Rays in 2016 out of Mississippi State and debuted in 2019.
He found his stride after being traded to Texas in 2020, putting together a strong four-year stretch that included a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in 2022, and a key role in the Rangers’ 2023 World Series run. Over seven big-league seasons, he owns a .264 career average with 107 homers-a track record that suggests he’s more than just a depth piece.
At 30 years old, Lowe might not be the centerpiece of a roster anymore, but he’s still got value-especially for a team in need of a left-handed bat with postseason experience and a history of run production. Whether that’s in a platoon, off the bench, or as a low-risk everyday option, there’s a spot for Nathaniel Lowe somewhere in MLB. It’s just a matter of which team sees the upside first.