Since the Boston Red Sox lost their first baseman, 2018 first-round draft pick Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury on May 2, they spent much of the season looking for answers at the position. On Aug. 18, they appeared to have found their solution when they signed seven-year veteran Nathaniel Lowe, who had been designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals just four days earlier.
Lowe helped stabilize the first base role as the Red Sox made what turned out to be successful late-season push for a playoff spot in the American League. Now, just three months after they acquired him, the Red Sox appear ready to allow Lowe to walk away as a free agent, possibly as early as Tuesday — four days in advance of the MLB deadline for cutting ties with players who are eligible for arbitration — according to a report by Red Sox correspondent Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
By Friday at 8 p.m. ET, clubs must inform arbitration-eligible players whether they intend to make them contract offers for the 2026 season. If they choose not to, a process called a non-tender, the player immediately becomes a free agent even though he would not otherwise be eligible for free agency.
Lowe is projected to earn a $13.5 million contract for next season, according to the mathematical formula used by MLB Trade Rumors. The sports business site Spotrac predicts a somewhat lower $12.75 million deal for Lowe in 2026.
Either way, Lowe is expected to get a significant raise over the $10.3 million he made this year between the Nationals and Red Sox. But according to Cotillo, those estimates are “much more than what he’d get on the open market after a down season that included him being cut by the Nationals.”
The MassLive reporter predicted that “Lowe will almost certainly be lopped off the roster but could re-sign at a lower rate as he tests the open market.”
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Non-tendering Lowe four days before the Friday deadline will likely be necessary because another important deadline hits at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. That’s when organizations must add any players they want to protect from the Rule 5 draft to their 40-man rosters.
Any players who meet service time requirements and who are not on a team’s 40-man roster may be taken in the Rule 5 draft. For players who were signed at age 18 or younger, five years of minor league service time is required before they must be added to a 40-man roster or become exposed to the Rule 5 drafting process. Players who signed at age 19 or older must be added after four years.
The Red Sox currently have a full 40-man roster, and they also have several minor leaguers they are almost certain to protect from the Rule 5 draft, including right-handed pitcher David Sandlin, the organization’s No. 10-ranked prospect, No. 15 prospect Miguel Bleis, a 21-year-old outfielder, and left-handed pitcher Hayden Mullins, the Red Sox farm system’s No. 18 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
To keep any or all of those players safe from the Rule 5 draft, one player must be removed from Boston’s 40-man roster for each player added.
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