MLB Fans in Disbelief After Former Silver Slugger Gets Released on Thursday

MLB Fans in Disbelief After Former Silver Slugger Gets Released on Thursday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Washington Nationals have plenty of young talent to be excited about, but their 2025 campaign is anything but exciting. They're 48-72 heading into Thursday night's bout with the Philadelphia Phillies, good for the third-worst record in baseball and the NL's second-worst.

The Nationals sent starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore and outfielder James Wood to this year's All-Star Game, both of whom they got in the 2022 Juan Soto trade. Shortstop CJ Abrams, who they also got in the deal, leads the team with a .266 batting average.

However, those players couldn't save manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, whom the organization fired on July 6. It replaced Rizzo with interim general manager Mike DeBartolo, who made a move on Thursday that MLB fans online can't believe, via the team's social media.

Washington reinstated outfielder Dylan Crews from the 60-day IL and designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment. The latter player hit a grand slam in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals and is second on the team with 440 at-bats, 16 homers, and 68 RBI.

"Smh I don’t get it. Grand Slams yesterday, DFA today," one fan said.

"He just hit a grand slam yesterday...." another said.

"He literally just hit a grand slam….." another said.

"Wtfff he just hit a grand slam lmao…nats are dumb af" another fan said.

"Dude hits a grand slam: you’re cut buddy," another said.

We have made the following roster moves:

- returned from rehab assignment and reinstated OF Dylan Crews from the 60-day IL
- designated 1B Nathaniel Lowe for assignment

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 14, 2025

Nathaniel Lowe Was an Awkward Fit With Nationals

While the timing of Lowe's ouster looks strange on the surface, it makes sense for Washington to part ways. The 30-year-old was not part of the team's young core, and he'd be better served as a role player on a contender at this point.

Lowe is slashing just .216/.292/.373 this season, but he still has enough power-hitting chops to help a playoff team. The former Silver Slugger already has the same number of homers that he hit across 140 games last year, and is on pace for his most since he smashed 27 in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Nationals will now get to see Crews finish out the year. The 2023 No. 2 overall pick is slashing .196/.266/.354 with seven homers and 15 RBI over 45 contests. He had his first big-league call-up last season, slashing .218/.288/.353 with three homers and eight RBI across 31 games.

Crews was ranked as baseball's top prospect at the end of the 2024 campaign, via MLB Pipeline.

Related: MLB Manager Clearly Blames Players After 7 Straight Losses

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.