BOSTON — Nathaniel Lowe arrived contained in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse on Monday with loads of questions and loads to show as nicely.
Lowe, signed by the Pink Sox after he was positioned on waivers following being designated for project by the Washington Nationals, will assist Boston at first base, in line with supervisor Alex Cora.
Cora instructed reporters on Monday that Lowe, who has a profession OPS+ of 116 however posted simply an 88 in 440 at-bats this season in Washington, would support the Pink Sox in positional conditions on the plate.
“We’ll use him towards righties, sure lefties,” Cora mentioned. “We’ll maximize the roster this yr.”
The Pink Sox are hoping to see extra of the Lowe who received a Silver Slugger in 2022 with the Texas Rangers, then posted a 114 OPS+ together with a Gold Glove at first base to assist the Rangers win the World Sequence in 2023.
“… An up-and-down season for him with the Nationals. Hopefully he comes right here — we talked a bit of bit concerning the wall and what it means to lefties. And he’s excited to be right here,” Cora mentioned.
Lowe indicated he was excited to get a contemporary begin in Boston and put behind a season to this point that has resulted in a .216/.292/.373 slash line.
Regardless of these numbers, nonetheless, Lowe has come by way of when wanted. With runners in scoring place, he is hitting .291 this season, matching his profession batting common within the division.
“I might prefer to have amnesia. I might prefer to wipe it from my reminiscence as a result of it hasn’t gone almost in addition to I’d have preferred for it to,” Lowe mentioned. “There are nonetheless some vibrant spots I can have a look at and nonetheless hold my hat on, however there’s a lot room for enchancment.”
Lowe’s addition must also enhance a primary base platoon that has ranked twenty third amongst MLB’s 30 groups in Wins Above Common this season. Boston’s minus-1.7 on the place is the worst within the American League East and third-worst within the AL.
“Getting plugged right into a lineup that is having nice success and part of making an awesome postseason push is what it is all about,” Lowe mentioned. “It is a true blessing to be right here.”
Lowe is one in all 13 gamers to report a minimum of 15 house runs and 65 RBI in every of the final 5 seasons. These sorts of numbers could be a plus for the Pink Sox as they appear to catch the Toronto Blue Jays within the AL East and proceed to tweak the roster.
“We made the large determination with Raffy (trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants) and we needed to study once more as a result of we had been enjoying good baseball,” Cora mentioned. “It was a bit of bit powerful for the group however then we acquired right here and we turned the web page.
“That is the place we’re, however we nonetheless have an extended methods to go.”
Whereas maybe an extended methods to go in his eyes, Cora and the Pink Sox hope that Lowe will assist be the compass that factors them towards a deep postseason run.
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