It was far from a surprise to see the Boston Red Sox non-tender Nathaniel Lowe last week, but now is when his free-agency story truly begins. <\/p>\n
Lowe would have had to be some kind of special to get the Red Sox to pick up his arbitration salary (which would have been north of $10 million) after his brutal five-month stint with the Washington Nationals. Instead, he was just pretty good, and Boston cut ties with him knowing he could still be a fallback option in free agency.<\/p>\n
But instead of signing back with the Red Sox, one offseason prognosticator has Lowe landing with the worst team in the sport at the moment. <\/p>\n
If you like our content,\u00a0choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/a>. <\/p>\n Rockies predicted to sign Nathaniel Lowe<\/p>\n As it happens, the Colorado Rockies non-tendered their own first baseman Michael Toglia at the end of last week as well. And on Monday, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted that the Rockies would buy low<\/a> on Lowe (ha) after his rough season followed four consecutive good ones with the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter cutting ties with Michael Toglia, the Rockies look like a logical landing spot for a long list of the veteran first basemen on the market, which includes Rhys Hoskins, Nathaniel Lowe, Ty France and Josh Bell,\u201d wrote Reuter.<\/p>\n Suffice it to say that playing for the Rockies is not an option many are actively seeking out these days. Following their 43-119 season, the Rockies likely will be able only to land free agents with few or no other realistic options to continue their major league careers.<\/p>\n Has Lowe arrived at that point? He’s 30 and put up a .689 OPS in 153 games this season, and he can’t even fall back on his status as a Gold Glover due to his negative-4 defensive runs saved this year.<\/p>\n The Red Sox also have a role to play in the story. If Boston nabs Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber, they’ll probably be out of the Lowe business. But perhaps if Alex Bregman comes back to be the third baseman and first baseman Triston Casas looks to be behind on his rehab, the Sox will consider Lowe on a one-year contract. <\/p>\n It’s worth mentioning, of course, that Coors Field is an offensive paradise, so at least Lowe would stand a good chance of boosting his career slash line if he signed with the lowly Rockies.<\/p>\n