Rangers Trade Nathaniel Lowe to Nationals, Sign Joc Pederson to Two-Year Deal
The Texas Rangers remain one of the sport’s most active teams this off-season, making a pair of notable moves in less than 24 hours.
First, the franchise traded first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals on Sunday, receiving left-hander Robert Garcia in return. Both clubs officially announced the deal shortly after the news first broke.
Lowe, under team control through 2026, was expected to be the odd man out after Texas acquired fellow first baseman Jake Burger via trade from the Miami Marlins last week. He’s arbitration-eligible for the next two seasons before hitting free agency.
The left-handed-hitting slugger enjoyed another strong campaign with the Rangers in ‘24, slashing .265/.361/.401 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs while posting a 121 wRC+ (100 league average) over 140 games. He also accounted for 2.8 fWAR, the second-highest rating of his six major league seasons.
It’s a major addition for a rebuilding Nationals organization, inserting a veteran bat into the middle of their order to better surround top young talents like CJ Abrams, James Wood, Dylan Crews, Luis García Jr. and Keibert Ruiz.
With Garcia headed the other way, the 28-year-old’s arrival brings a swing-and-miss lefty to the Rangers’ bullpen retool. He’s also a cost-effective acquisition, as he isn’t arbitration-eligible until after next season and is under club control through 2028.
The 6-foot-4 southpaw is coming off a breakout season in Washington, pitching to a 4.22 ERA in 59.2 innings during his first full big-league season. But he fared better than his ERA suggests, courtesy of a 2.38 FIP and 23.5-percent strikeout-to-walk rate difference.
Garcia also excelled to a 2.53 xERA, placing in the 97th percentile of the majors. Additionally, he placed in the 90th percentile or higher with his strikeout (29.9%) and chase rates (33.6%), as well as with his hard hit (30.2%) and barrel rates against (3.1%).
Texas’ newest reliever will likely operate at the back end of the bullpen, sharing late-inning duties with Jacob Webb (also acquired this off-season) following the departures of David Robertson, Kirby Yates and José Leclerc – all of whom are free agents.
After completing the Lowe-Garcia trade, the Rangers didn’t waste any time filling their vacant designated hitter position, signing free-agent Joc Pederson early Monday morning, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported.
It’s a two-year, $37-million contract for Pederson, whose deal also includes an opt-out after next season, as ESPN’s Buster Olney reported. That will pay the left-handed thumper $18.5 million per season through 2026 if he fulfills both years of the contract.
After spending two seasons with the San Francisco Giants from 2022-23, the 32-year-old inked a one-year deal with the NL-West-division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks last winter and enjoyed arguably the best offensive showing of his 11-year MLB career.
Pederson delivered a career-high 151 wRC+, hitting 23 home runs, 64 RBIs and .275/.393/.515 across 132 games. He was also a three-win player, earning his highest fWAR rating since ‘16 and the third-highest of his career.
The veteran lefty perfectly replaces the left-handed presence lost in Lowe’s departure, and he should fit right into place alongside the likes of Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Adolis García.
It’s been challenging to keep up with the flurry of moves made by Texas’ front office this winter. They’ve added Pederson, Garcia, Webb, Burger, Kyle Higashioka and re-signed Nathan Eovaldi to a three-year, $75-million contract.
There’s still more work to be done. However, it’s already been an eventful off-season for general manager Chris Young as he attempts to fortify this roster after missing the playoffs a season ago.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.