SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers could be without their starting first baseman on Opening Day.
Manager Bruce Bochy said Nathaniel Lowe, the reigning American League Gold Glove Winner at first base, could miss the start of the season with an oblique strain.
"He's going to be out for a little bit," Bochy told reporters at spring training in Surprise, Ariz. "He won't be in the lineup today, or for a little bit. We're re-evaluating him on a daily basis, but it's going to be for a little while. Oblique, you know how that goes."
Lowe said he injured the oblique while hitting, but that it wasn't a single swing that did it.
"Wear and tear," he said. "I think just a combo of everything. I couldn't pinpoint one point where it started, but I can pinpoint one point where it stopped. So we have to address that."
Lowe was frustrated by the setback.
"It sucks," he said. "Climbing up the list on creating value for myself and making money, and now getting paid to do nothing is pretty slimy. I don't love it. Something that's new for me, and we'll take it in stride."
The Rangers have several of options at first base, but none with Lowe's combination of experience and accolades; he won a Silver Slugger in 2022 and his first Gold Glove in 2023, while batting .262 with a .360 on-base percentage.
Bochy said Jared Walsh, Justin Foscue, Ezequiel Duran, Blaine Crim, Josh Smith, and Davis Wendzel are all options who could get work at the position in Lowe's absence.
Walsh is the only one among that bunch with big-league experience at first base. He played five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, including an All-Star season in 2021, before battling insomnia issues.
After Walsh was released by the Angels, the Rangers signed him to a minor-league deal. And he's having himself a spring in the early going, batting .412 with a homer and three RBI in seven games in Arizona.
Foscue was the Rangers' first-round pick in 2020 and has mostly played second base in the minors. But the Rangers have given him some work at first base this spring, and he's hitting .348 in nine games in Arizona.
"We'll move on and keep it going until we get Nate back," Bochy said.