A-Lowe-ha Nathaniel the Nat

[JCA-CrystalCity]

for House, I'm not writing him off, and if he shows some real improvement in AAA in terms of power, drops his K rate below 25%), and even learns to take a few walks, then he's back in the picture. Do that, and hit like a power hitter, and we've got something. But the next time he hits 20 HR in a season will be the first time. For all the 60 and 70 grade power talk, it's not showing up in close to 800 PAs above A+. I want an ISO north of .200 from him.  A .240 / .310 / .440 line for a 3rd baseman is OK. That's more or less Jake Burger, but House didn't do that in 2024 at either AA or AAA.

[varoadking]

Only an 87 mph average exit velocity for house in aaa per baseball savant. Not where it needs to be for a power hitter. For comparison, crews was at 90 mph in his aaa time.

Agreed...House has a looooooooooooooooooooooong way to go...so I figure he'll end up somewhere else before too long...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/12/23/nathaniel-lowe-nationals-trade/

Golden's backgrounder with Lowe from either an interview or a presser.  Note's that Lowe doesn't have big splits vs LHP/RHP, and that he should help address the Nats inability to draw BBs. Has a 120 OPS+ for his career.

Lowe's also looking for a power improvement from last year. Having gone through the early stages of Texas's rebuild, he's looking forward to being the veteran "voice of reason" helping the young core develop.  Golden also points out how Lowe's D should help CJ and Tena (if Tena ends up at 3rd).

Lowe, 29, is under team control for the next two seasons and probably will slot in as Washington’s everyday first baseman. He checks a handful of boxes for the Nationals. Lowe, who has played at least 140 games in each of the past four seasons, provides stability and durability. He will be Washington’s most experienced position player, filling a leadership void in the clubhouse. And he raises the team’s offensive floor with a career .789 OPS and 60 home runs over the past three seasons.
...
“I don’t believe in the narrative of left-on-left matchups — I just don’t,” Lowe said. “As soon as you allow yourself to believe that narrative, maybe there might be a sense of doubt. I don’t care what side the pitcher throws the ball from; it’s still got to cross the plate.”
...
“Looking at all the ’98s, ’99s and 2000s on the roster is a new experience,” Lowe said. “Being a guy who can be a voice of reason in the clubhouse and can definitely help this young core continue to develop is going to be a new challenge, and it’s going to be exciting.”

[Slateman]

Walks are only meaningful if you hit for power.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Walks are only meaningful if you hit for power.

the lineup is setting up for Abrams / Lowe / Crews / Wood / Garcia / Chappy / Tena / Ruiz / Young. That OBP will be useful out of the #2 spot.

[Slateman]

the lineup is setting up for Abrams / Lowe / Crews / Wood / Garcia / Chappy / Tena / Ruiz / Young. That OBP will be useful out of the #2 spot.

There is no way you hit Lowe 2nd. Crews has the speed and OBP that you want.

But after Wood, you have nothing but low OBP slap hitters. It will take 4+ hits to score more than 1 run. That's pretty much impossible in today's game.

[Smithian]

This is a solid trade.

I said all year if the Nationals would take some salary on then good players would be available for small returns. Rangers got some luxury tax relief and Nationals got a good player who could put up 3 WAR as a 1B/DH, where the Nationals are desperate for reinforcements.

It doesn't look like the Nationals are "going for it" but this is a solid move that shows at the least the Nats aren't going for a league bottom payroll.

If the Nats can do a bit more work on looking for salary dump pitching, a decent to good offseason is still very possible!

[raleighnat]

This is a solid trade.

I said all year if the Nationals would take some salary on then good players would be available for small returns. Rangers got some luxury tax relief and Nationals got a good player who could put up 3 WAR as a 1B/DH, where the Nationals are desperate for reinforcements.

It doesn't look like the Nationals are "going for it" but this is a solid move that shows at the least the Nats aren't going for a league bottom payroll.

If the Nats can do a bit more work on looking for salary dump pitching, a decent to good offseason is still very possible!

Hopefully more to come.   Bregman, and build a bullpen and we can at least compete.

[HalfSmokes]

This is a solid trade.

I said all year if the Nationals would take some salary on then good players would be available for small returns. Rangers got some luxury tax relief and Nationals got a good player who could put up 3 WAR as a 1B/DH, where the Nationals are desperate for reinforcements.

It doesn't look like the Nationals are "going for it" but this is a solid move that shows at the least the Nats aren't going for a league bottom payroll.

If the Nats can do a bit more work on looking for salary dump pitching, a decent to good offseason is still very possible!

Differed salary is the only thing standing between the nats and league bottom payroll. They are punting yet another season.

[Slateman]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/01/09/nationals-arbitration-players-garcia-lowe/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com

Welcome to DC.

[imref]

$800k apart, they will reach a deal.

[IanRubbish]

$800k apart, they will reach a deal.

Angels and Luis Rengifo are $150k apart and are likely heading for a hearing.

[varoadking]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/01/09/nationals-arbitration-players-garcia-lowe/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com

Welcome to DC.

Cheap bastards...

[OfftheBat]

Cheap bastards...

You perfectly summed them up lol.