Red Sox being gifted Nathaniel Lowe is another classic Yankees misfortune

The 2025 season started like a dream for the New York Yankees and their fans. The reigning AL Pennant winners survived a litany of injuries to the starting rotation and jumped out to an early division lead. Meanwhile, the hated Boston Red Sox stumbled out of the gate, mired in self-inflicted turmoil.

Boston losing budding star first baseman Triston Casas for the year, and subsequently trading Rafael Devers after the former franchise cornerstone flatly refused to fill the hole at first seemed like a death knell for a Red Sox season that was already spiraling out of control.

Instead, Boston pieced it together with utility men Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez taking the lion's share of the first base reps. It wasn't pretty. On the season, Red Sox first baseman managed just a .234/.290/.385 slash line, good for an 81 wRC+. By wRC+, they ranked 26th in the majors.

Somehow, in a way that defied baseball logic, the Red Sox fortunes began to turn following the trade of their most feared hitter. Back in the thick of the race, Boston opted not to add to their first base depth chart at the trade deadline, which looked like a colossal mistake until, annoyingly, a gift fell right into their lap on Aug. 18.

Red Sox being gifted a picture-perfect first base solution is a Yankees nightmare

Following the Yankees' 6-3 defeat in the series opener against the Red Sox, Boston now sits just a half-game behind New York for second place in the AL East, with both teams sitting in the first and second AL Wild Card spots, respectively.

That's not exactly how the Bombers wanted to start after seemingly breaking out of their summer swoon with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, followed up by a homer-fueled beatdown of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston now looks even more formidable, too, with Nathaniel Lowe entering the fray as a post-trade deadline gift. Lowe was cut by the lowly Washington Nationals after putting up an uninspiring .665 OPS. That doesn't mean that this is an addition that should be overlooked, however.

Lowe took home a Silver Slugger award in 2022, on the strength of a .302/.358/.492 line and 27-homer campaign. He'd follow that up with a Gold Glove in 2023 and served as a key cog for the World Series-winning Texas Rangers. Even with a slightly down year in 2024, he was still productive, posting a .762 OPS. In Boston, he's wasted no time making an impact, either. He hit a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning on Tuesday against the Orioles, and he clubbed the game-winning RBI double against the Yankees on Thursday.

If Lowe is rejuvenated by being back in the playoff picture, he'll serve as a massive upgrade to the Red Sox lineup's Achilles heel. With him now in the fold, the Red Sox will be that much more of a threat down the stretch, which should be of grave concern to the Yankees and their fans.

Most of all, however, we're all wondering why the Nationals parted with Lowe, and how it became perfect timing for the Red Sox, who revived their season to get back in the thick of the playoff race.