Any Boston Red Sox fan paying attention to the offense of late can tell you that Abraham Toro has become a problem. While he was undeniably a savior early in the season after Triston Casas’ injury when a hot streak from the veteran infielder seemed to spark an offensive surge, he’s cooled off to being almost unusable of late. That, naturally, has led to calls for Kristian Campbell to be called back up, especially after not adding someone at the trade deadline. But now the Red Sox can add a once-rumored trade target off of waivers after the shocking release of former Silver Slugger Nathaniel Lowe.
The Washington Nationals quietly provided a minor shock to the baseball world on Thursday as they designated the 30-year-old Lowe for assignment out of nowhere — one day after he hit a grand slam, no less.
We have made the following roster moves:
– returned from rehab assignment and reinstated OF Dylan Crews from the 60-day IL
– designated 1B Nathaniel Lowe for assignment— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 14, 2025
In the thralls of the playoff race and after navigating a truly brutal schedule after the All-Star break, the Red Sox need Breslow to move quickly and get Lowe to Boston. Quite frankly, he’s the offensive piece that the club needs to take advantage of a soft schedule across the final 40 games of the regular season and secure a postseason berth for the first time since 2021.
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Red Sox have to pounce on signing Nathaniel Lowe to replace Abraham Toro
The fact that Washington DFA’d Lowe when he is under club control through the 2026 season is a massive surprise, but it could simply end up being a gift for the Red Sox. Yes, Lowe has underperformed largely this season, posting a .665 OPS on the year, which is the lowest of his career by more than 80 points. However, for a player who should still be in or around his prime, there’s a reason to believe that a change of scenery could work wonders.
Furthermore, that .665 mark is essentially equal to what Toro has given on the whole this season, posting a .689 OPS to this point in the year. What’s more important, though, is how much Toro has dropped off in the past few months, showing up with a .559 OPS since the All-Star break and with a .509 OPS so far in August. Let’s also not forget that Toro isn’t a natural first baseman, which has been evident at times defensively, while Lowe has a Gold Glove at first to his credit.
If you believe that Lowe is due for a bounce-back, that alone is a reason to replace Toro with another veteran on the DFA/waiver market. However, the Red Sox have an even bigger reason to pounce on adding Lowe, which comes down to how they’ve operated all season at first base since the Casas injury.
A Nathaniel Lowe-Romy Gonzalez platoon at 1B is what the Red Sox need
In the wake of Casas going down, Boston settled into a platoon with Romy Gonzalez at first against lefties and Abraham Toro, despite being a switch-hitter, taking that spot against righties. The problem has become that, while Gonzalez has continued to thrive, he’s actually been better against righties too of late. Lowe could, in turn, give the Red Sox a huge upgrade in that platoon with Gonzalez.
Even with Lowe’s struggles relative to the rest of his career, he’s still been shining against righties. He has a .732 OPS against right-handers this season, with 14 of his home runs (out of 16) and 59 of his 68 RBI coming in that platoon matchup.
That’s also been evident throughout his career, posting a .786 OPS for his career against right-handers with 80 home runs and 285 RBI. That’s been his specialty overall, so when you combine that with a potential boost from the change of scenery to a winning team, he looks ideal to platoon with Gonzalez and provide more stability.
This, of course, isn’t the only option the Red Sox have. But there also weren’t many people who expected Lowe to become available beyond the trade deadline. Now that he is, he’s clearly Boston’s best option to fill the void at first base and ultimately secure a piece that will solidify their playoff spot.
