As the Boston Red Sox construct a plan for the offseason, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe’s future is in a state of flux.
Lowe came to the Red Sox on a league-minimum contract for the final two months of the season after he was released by the Washington Nationals. But while he was decent in his small sample in Boston, it wouldn’t be nearly as cheap to bring him back for another year.
With first base up in the air and a roster crunch coming, the Red Sox seem highly unlikely to pay Lowe whatever he’s projected to be worth in free agency. That could provide cause for some interesting roster maneuvers as the offseason ramps up in the weeks to come.
Will Red Sox release or DFA Nathaniel Lowe?
On Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive pointed out that before he’d be scheduled to be non-tendered, Lowe could be released or designated for assignment by the Red Sox to create a “free space” on the initial 40-man roster when players are activated from the 60-day injured list after the World Series.
“Lowe is not a free agent — yet — because he’s an arbitration-eligible player,” Cotillo wrote. “But he’s due, after earning $10.3 million last season, to get a raise in the $13.5 million range, according to (MLB Trade Rumors).
“His performance, of course, is not commensurate with that salary, making him a clear, obvious non-tender candidate. The Red Sox could just cut bait immediately by designating or releasing Lowe and allowing him to hit the open market a little earlier. That would not preclude trying to re-sign him on a lower-dollar deal.”
The only minor complication is that designating Lowe for assignment would create a window for a team to claim him off waivers, but that team would then face the same dilemma of paying him in arbitration that the Red Sox currently are, so it seems highly unlikely.
There’s no shot the Red Sox could DFA Lowe and outright him to the minors, either, because he has more than enough service time to elect free agency in that hypothetical scenario.
So while initially cutting ties with Lowe and seeing if a reunion makes sense later is the most likely course of action, it will still be interesting to watch how the Red Sox go about doing it.
