Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe had one of the best games of his seven-year career Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals. Lowe hit his first-career grand slam and reached base two other times in a tight 8-7 win.
One day later, Lowe finds himself out of a job. The 30-year-old was designated for assignment Thursday to make room for outfielder Dylan Crews, who returned from an oblique injury.
It was a harsh transaction considering Lowe's performance in Wednesday's game. In his first at-bat, Lowe blasted a first-inning grand slam to give the Nationals an early lead. The Royals eventually battled back, making it a back-and-forth game in the late innings. With the Nationals barely clinging to a lead, Lowe produced two walks — one in the seventh and one in the ninth — to keep the team in the game.
Lowe's first-inning hit was his first-ever grand slam in the majors. Because of that, and his late-inning walks, Wednesday's game rated as the fifth-best game of Lowe's entire career by win probability added, a stat that measures how much a player's contributions affected a single game.
Unfortunately for Lowe, the rest of his season hasn't been as fruitful. Including Wednesday's numbers, Lowe has a .216/.292/.373 slash line in 2025. Given his struggles and his age, he was a logical choice to be shipped out in favor of the 23-year-old Crews.
With the Nationals in the midst of yet another tough season, the team needs to focus on finding future solutions. Crews, one of the team's top prospects, was thought to be one of the team's answers, but struggled this season before his injury. Despite Crews' struggles, it makes more sense for the team to allow the 23-year-old to figure things out over the final two months over keeping a 30-year-old veteran who hasn't hit up to his usual standard. One of those guys might help them next season and beyond. Still, that has to sting for Lowe.
There's an opportunity for this whole thing to have a happy ending. Lowe could get claimed by a contender and wind up playing meaningful baseball down the stretch. Despite his struggles, Lowe does have an above average 104 wRC+ against righties this season. He could be a useful platoon bat for a team in need of power in the middle of a playoff race.
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