The Texas Rangers haven't been very proactive in trying to return to championship form after a disappointing campaign in 2024, and their latest move is perhaps the biggest head-scratcher of all.
According to multiple reports, they've trade first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia.
Left-handed reliever Robert Garcia is headed from the Nationals to the Rangers in the Nathaniel Lowe trade, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 22, 2024
Lowe, a Silver Slugger in 2022 and a Gold Glove award winner in 2023, is one of the best first basemen in baseball right now. He's been worth 2.0+ WAR in each of the past four seasons, and provides excellent defense with steady offense (career .789 OPS). He's 29 years old and has two more years of arbitration remaining (he's projected to make upwards of $11 million in 2025).
Garcia is a 28-year-old reliever who wasn't great in 2024 (4.22 ERA, -0.2 WAR in 59 2/3 innings), though his metrics — 2.38 FIP, 29.9% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate — portend some positive times ahead. Still, as the only return for the Rangers in this trade, he's a mixed bag at best.
Lowe's tenure in Texas ends prematurely due to financial constraints
The Rangers have paid the luxury tax in back-to-back seasons, and it's clear that there's a mandate from ownership that the team needs to duck it this year, lest they continue racking up increasing penalties.
Lowe's expected $10+ million salary next year certainly isn't nothing, but he's more than worth the cost. He's been one of the most consistent players on the Rangers' roster throughout his career, and he was an instrumental figure in the team's 2023 championship run, including hitting two home runs and posting an .829 OPS in the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
He dealt with an oblique strain to open up this past season, but he's otherwise been a very durable player, playing in 140+ games every season since winning the first base job in 2021. The Nationals' lineup will be significantly better with him in it.
The Rangers already have Lowe's replacement on the roster, having acquired Jake Burger in a trade with the Marlins earlier this month. That still doesn't excuse the light return they got for two years of Lowe.
As mentioned, Garcia's peripherals were promising last season, and he isn't even arbitration eligible for two more seasons, but a reliever who has yet to put it all together at the major league level isn't what Rangers fans were likely envisioning when Lowe popped up in trade rumors. That being said, Statcast also loves Garcia, including a 98th percentile ranking in limiting hard contact. If he breaks out next season, the Rangers will have a valuable reliever on the roster for cheap over the next half-decade.
Does that mean the Rangers won this trade, or even got fair value for Lowe? Absolutely not, but at least there's a silver lining for fans to cling on to.