Guardians To Acquire Nathaniel Lowe

Lowe, 31, is having a bounceback year after the worst campaign of his career. Through the end of the 2024 season, he had played in 686 contests for the Rays and Rangers and put up a .272/.356/.433 line and 123 wRC+, indicating he was 23% above league average at the plate for that stretch. Last year, split between the Nationals and Red Sox, his line fell to .228/.307/.381. His 91 wRC+ indicated he was 9% worse than league average.

After that down season, the Reds were able to scoop him up on a minor league deal, which came with a modest $1.75MM salary if he made the roster. He made the Opening Day squad and has been with the Reds all year. In 276 trips to the plate, he has 12 home runs, a 10.1% walk rate, a .266/.341/.480 line and 120 wRC+.

The Guardians have lots of room for improvement in the first base and designated hitter mix. Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins have been effectively platooning at first. The lefty Manzardo has a .215/.306/.378 line and 95 wRC+. The righty Hoskins has a .179/.312/.383 line and 99 wRC+. In the DH spot, Chase DeLauter has been getting a lot of time there lately. If he spent more time on the grass, that could mean less playing time for guys like Petey Halpin or Angel Martínez. Halpin has a .213/.246/.315 line and 55 wRC+ on the year, Martinez a .225/.260/.414 line and 85 wRC+.

Lowe doesn’t have huge splits in his career but is doing all his damage against righties this year. He has .286/.363/.522 line with the platoon advantage but the Reds have only let him face a southpaw 25 times, with Lowe putting up a .083/.120/.083 line in those. The Guards also added outfielder Jo Adell today, a righty bat who mashes lefties. Between the two, they should be able to mix and match and voltron their way into one solidly above average lineup spot.

The Reds had a surprisingly quiet deadline but they are surely happy to get a prospect return from a guy they signed to a minor league deal. Rivera, 19, is listed at #30 on Baseball America‘s top 30 list for the Guards’ system. An international signing out of Venezuela, he has posted strong results in rookie ball so far. Their report notes that he has recently added some velocity and a third pitch, with his slider now a viable offering behind his fastball and changeup.

He is quite young and only has five Single-A innings under his belt, so he’s a long-term project for the Reds. Since he’s listed at 5’10” or 5’11” by different sources and either 154 or 156 pounds, a lot might depend on his future physical development.

Photos courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images