Aug 19, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (37) runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning at Fenway Park. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Nathaniel Lowe Has Found His Stride Following Departure From Nationals

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Jeremy Trottier | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The Washington Nationals have a clear vision for their franchise heading forward, and that is moving on from the majority of their veteran assets and building around their young core of talent. With players like James Wood, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Dylan Crews and more being the focus of their time and effort, they have decided to purge the roster of most of their veterans.

The Juan Soto trade was one of the earlier moves, alongside moving on from Kyle Schwarber and others to clear up space following their World Series. Now, years later, they are still working to build a roster for the future.

Unfortunately -- or maybe fortunately -- for players like Nathaniel Lowe, this means his roster spot was needed for others the organization wanted to take a look at, so the Nationals moved on from him after a tough start to the season.

Following that, Lowe signed with the Boston Red Sox, who remain competitive among the strong American League East. First base was a problem for them, but Lowe has been up to the task. In his first five games, he has slashed .357/.444/.714 with five RBI, four runs, a homer, three walks and one strikeout. In this span, he has almost completely turned around his bWAR on the year, going from minus-0.4 to minus-0.1 in only 18 plate appearances.

With that, the question now becomes how Washington handles their first base situation, as they have chosen to move on from Lowe despite not having a clear-cut option to take over at that spot going forward.

What Does Nationals' Future Look Like at First Base?

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Currently, when it comes to the Nationals' depth chart, their options at first base are Josh Bell, Andrés Chaparro and, to some extent, Paul DeJong.

DeJong and Bell are both on one-year contracts that expire this offseason, and Chaparro is in pre-arbitration. So there is plenty of room to grow at the position, and frankly, not much is holding the team back from calling up a prospect or pursuing a free agent.

The most likely candidate would have to be Yohandy Morales in the short term, as he already has a decent amount of experience in Triple-A and has proven to be a competent bat with a strong glove at first base. While he has been getting a large amount of reps at third base as well, he can play at either spot and should be in consideration for 2026.

As for the long term, the spot may go to Ethan Petry, Washington's 2025 second-round pick who has experience mostly in the outfield and at first base. But he is still a decent amount of time away from an MLB debut, so Morales may be the stopgap option and then shuffle things around when Petry becomes ready.