BREAKTHROUGH: Pittsburgh Pirates Land Brandon Lowe in Trade That TRANSFORMS Lineup Potential

BREAKTHROUGH: Pittsburgh Pirates Land Brandon Lowe in Trade That TRANSFORMS Lineup Potential

The Pittsburgh Pirates just made a big move, acquiring twotime all-star Brandon Laauo in a three-team deal that the Rays and Astros helped them pull off. It’s emergency pod time in Pittsburgh. You are Locked [music] on Pirates, your daily Pittsburgh Pirates podcast, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. >> What’s up everybody? Welcome back for the second time today to Locked on Pirates, your daily podcast for all things Buckos. I’m Gary Morgan, former editor at steelc city pirates.com. Been covering this team since 2019. I’m a lifelong fan and I am excited to talk about a trade that I’m having a hard time finding a downside to. Today we’re going to break down the Pirates shocking three team trade for Brandon Laauo and what it means for 2026 and beyond. Two segments, all killer, no filler, a little shorter of a show. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. So, here’s the deal. The Pirates are acquiring two-time all-star infielder Brandon Laauo in a three-team trade with the Rays and Astros. Pending medicals, of course. Lao is coming to Pittsburgh along with left-handed pitcher Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum. Heading out, Mike Burroughs goes to Houston. Tampa Bay gets Jacob Melton, very good prospect, and Anderson Breurto from the Astros. Let’s start with Lao. 31 years old. He’s an eight-year veteran. He’s spent his entire career with Tampa Bay. This guy brings legit power. Four seasons with 20 plus homers, two with 30 plus, including this past season when he hit 31 bombs with 83 RBI and a 785 OPS over 134 games. his careerhigh 39 home runs and 99 RBI back in 2021. Contractwise, Laauo has one year left at 11.5 million before hitting free agency in 2027. He was worth 1.9 WAR in 2025. And while injuries have been a concern, oblique tightness, ankle issues, even back problems, when he’s healthy, he’s a differencemaker. This is the kind of bat the Pirates have been desperate for. We’ve been talking all off season about needing to get a bat like this. We’ve been talking about needing to get multiple bats like this. So, I’m sure one is not going to be enough to satiate most of you, but Brandon Laauo is a legitimate hitter. That’s what he is. We can quibble about where he plays, and we’ll talk about it a little later in this episode as to what they might do. Um, part of me wants to almost wait until the dust settles a little bit. And I don’t mean just from this one deal, but one deal can often trigger others. You know, I when we talk about the other components of this deal, the Pirates actually got quite a bit back for just Mike Burroughs here. Um, and he’s a good player, too. It’s not like I’m downplaying Mike Burroughs, but one pitcher went out and brought back three players that I believe the Pirates can use this year. And I think all three of them have a decent shot to be good players, too. Focusing on Lao, the the only criticism you could really have is that this is the last year of his team control. 11.5 million is not that bad. In fact, what it signifies is that the Pirates used something that they never use. Their ability to absorb salary to get this deal done. That’s the only reason that they were able to swing it is because they were willing to eat the salary. Now, if Brandon Laauo has a down season here, it still might be better than what they would have gotten from what they had. That’s the position the Pittsburgh Pirates have been in. So, it’s very important that they get bats like this. You don’t have to be satisfied. You don’t have to pretend that you can throw your hands up in the air and claim that they’ve done it and won the off season. That’s certainly not the case. I think there’s more to be done here. We’ll certainly talk about that, but you can’t turn your nose up at something you actively told them they had to go get. We needed sticks. Brandon L’s a good bet. He really is. I don’t know if I trust him in the field all that much, but I think he’s gonna play. I think you can get by with him at second base. Doesn’t have to be a DH. Just because his numbers are underwhelming, doesn’t mean he has to be. Now, if you’re trying to keep him healthy, which has been a concern, as I mentioned, you might want to lean more towards the DH, which would be fine because he’s a left-hander. So if you still bring Cut back, that’s great. So you platoon the position, whatever. But Brandon Laauo can play in the in the field, too. He can play in the outfield. I don’t think you want to do it. I don’t think you want to put him in the corner outfield, but he can do it and has done it. Second base, he can do it. Has done it. Been good enough to do it for the Rays who’ve won an awful lot of games, you know, over the years with him. You don’t stay in Tampa for eight years without doing something right. They move on quickly when they’re ready, when they don’t see it. It’s a good player. Probably a player that’s nearing the end. But I wouldn’t get sweaty about it being a one-year deal. Okay, I understand why because the tendency is to think that, oh, they’re going to flip them at the deadline. Well, let me just kind of paint a picture for you. If this team isn’t in a good position come deadline time, they’re gonna trade an awful lot more than one one-year deal, guys. This won’t just be like Dennis Santana and Brandon Laauo go out the door at the deadline because this will be like um it’s time to start thinking about O’Neal Cruz. Time to resurrect that Mitch Keller thought. might even consider moving on from a Brian Reynolds. If this season goes the way you’re predicting it would and prompts what it would prompt for Brandon Laauo, he’ll be the least of your concerns about who’s available. Because if they don’t make it this time, we’re talking wholesale change for the Pirates. I don’t mean they’re going to deconstruct the entire team, but they’re going to start shedding people. If they’re not going to make it, they’re going to shed salary. They’re not going to add. So, I I think I think it’s it’s kind of foolish to worry much about the one-year thing. Plus, if if you know, if you like him, extend him a couple years. This isn’t a guy that’s going to be out there getting 150 million in six years. That’s not going to happen. That’s not the kind of player he is. That’s not the kind of contract he’s going to desire. If you really want to extend him a couple years, he could probably do it, but aren’t we kind of just trying to buy time in the middle infield anyway? Feels to me like we are. Brandon Laauo buys us time. He buys time for Nick Gonzalez to either mature more or Nick York to mature more and become a player that you actually want to put in there instead in his place. gives Termar Johnson time. You know, it gives the team a lot of options as far as what they can do with that middle infield. Now, all of a sudden, when you talk about the plausibility of maybe Nick Gonzalez playing short, you don’t go, “Oh crap, but who’s played second? I guess it’s York.” Well, it’s Brandon Laauo now. And it’s a guy that adds punch to your lineup. I mean, he’s going to go right into the heart of this lineup. I’d be shocked if he didn’t hit like third or fourth from the jump. This is a good centerpiece of this deal, but there really was a lot more. They’re signaling they want to compete now. That’s why you go and get this power hitter. That’s why you don’t just try to trade Mike Burroughs directly to Houston for two prospects. Those are good prospects the Rays got back from Houston, but the Pirates wanted it now. proven power right now. And that’s what they went out and got. They also got some other stuff that’s pretty interesting. Let’s talk about that when we come back. 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Take the guesswork out of buying World Cup tickets and every match, concert, or event with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. again. Download the app, make an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Game time. Hey everybody, welcome back to Locked on Pirates. Um, the Pirates also added Mason Montgomery, 25-year-old lefty who throws gas. His averages 99 miles per hour with the fast ball slider combo. He has appeared in 57 games for Tampa Bay last season, posting a 567 erra, 1.67 whip over 46 innings. Listen, those numbers aren’t sexy, but if you watched this kid, the stuff is sick. Think about he who can’t be named. And for those of you that don’t know, that’s uh Felipe uh Rivera or whatever he changed his name to. Vasquez. I guess I named him. So there you go. But think him because the Pirates haven’t had a lefty out of the pen with that kind of stuff since him. And uh Montgomery is a guy that the stuff is going to blow you away. The the control is the problem. If they can rein in his control, I think you’ve got a wipeout pitcher. I think you do. He averages 13 strikeouts an inning. I mean, like this is or a game. This is a great swing at a guy. A much better swing at a lefty than they’ve taken outside of Soda who they just signed or Chapman a couple years ago. Even Caleb Ferguson was probably a little bit better as far as like just being sure about it. But Mason Montgomery is a good bet. I like the idea here. I do. I like the swing. Then there’s Jason Magnum. Uh 29 years old, debuted in 2025. A little long in the tooth to be debuting. Um he hit 296 over 118 games last year with solid contact skills and speed. He is an elite defender, versatile outfielder, can really play anywhere, gives you depth in center field that they didn’t have outside of Jack Sinsky before this trade. Um, got a lot of team control over him, although at 29, you’re not sure how much of it you want, which is probably why he was available, right? Um, a spark plug player though comes from Jackson Prep, Connor Griffin School, and uh, they know each other. Apparently, according to Noah Hiles, they were out training together, uh, just last week. So, these two guys know each other really well. Um, Mangum is going to fit right in here. I think I I do think that he could still be dealt. Let’s say like um that they go out and get another additional left fielder or right fielder, whichever you’re looking for, and it’s a bigger bat type, you know, we still think they need to get another bat. So, if you go and get another bat, chances are you’re going to squeeze somebody like Mangum out or you’re at least going to make him compete with somebody like uh Password Garcia that you just got. you know, if both of them make the team, okay, but I think you could probably do a little bit better as far as sure things go. So, we’ll see. I’m excited about him. I think he is a And I know I said in my video, you know, I thought they could flip him. That’s my initial thought is like when you get a a three team deal like this with a couple extra players and it it’s going to bring with it a bunch of 40man implications and everything, it usually means it’s going to spawn another deal. it tends to anyway. And a lot of the time those deals are swinging one of these guys that you just got right back out the door. So I could see that or I could see him staying. He did kill the Pirates last year in a three-game series. I think he went eight for 13 against them or eight for 12. I mean, he just went off. I I don’t know if you remember it or not, but it was literally to the point where every time he came up, we were like, “Can we get him out?” And nobody could. So, I mean, he’s a pure hitter. I would call him pure hitter. Uh, think uh Giwan Bay with the ability to actually hit baseballs. I mean, there’s not a lot of power there, but I think there is average here. And for those of you that like wanted them to go out and pursue a guy like Louisa Raz or something, and I’ve pushed back on that with H Luis Raz is a little too slow. Oh, he can’t really field a position, right? Well, Jake Mangum is all those things. Sure, he doesn’t have the pedigree of having won the the batting title and whatnot, and he’s not as prolific. He’s not going to hit 340 or something, but this is a guy that, look at his record. He’s hit damn near 300 or over his entire journey. He’s just a slight player, not a lot of power. Again, probably not a starting profile, but you could do a hell of a lot worse for a guy on your bench. What’s the cost of all of these wonderful players that we’ve brought in? Well, Mike Burroughs, uh, he was penciled in as a rotation piece. He logged 96 innings last year with a 394 erra, losing him stings. No doubt about it, especially after trading Johan Ovido earlier this off season. But let’s be blunt about what we thought was going to happen coming into this season. A lot of us thought they were going to end up having to trade a whole heck of a lot more. We were thinking Mitch Keller. Some of us were thinking Bubba, Barco, you know, I mean, we’ve been talking about some pretty big names. Ashcraft’s been coming up as a real hot commodity for a lot of people that are interested in trades with the Pirates. Mike Burroughs is a good player. I’m not going to back off that because they traded him. I I think he’s going to be a productive starter for the Astros. It’s a great situation for him to land in. I think they’ll foster him along. I think Mike Burroughs is a middle of the rotation guy. I think I always thought that’s what he would wind up being. I think that’s what he’ll wind up being there. But I make no bones about this. The Pirates traded a major league pitcher today and one that I think is going to be successful for a while. They did it in exchange for one year of Brandon Laauo and two pieces that they have control of for a long time that could help. Big picture, this is a step towards fixing an offense that’s been stuck in neutral. Lao gives them a legitimate middle- of the order bat. Montgomery and Mangum add depth, but is it enough? Probably not. They still need another proven hitter and at least one starter. I mean, and and I think that needs to be either third base or corner outfield. I still think those are the same priorities we had. Just because we got loud doesn’t mean those are fixed. But you brought in another bat that adds to the mix of what you can do and move who you can move around and how you can move them around. It’s an exciting move for for for the Pirates, I think, in every way, shape, and form. I’ve tried to beat it up. I tried to I mean, I undersold Mangum when I first like started looking at the deal. I’ve looked into him further. I I’m I’m still not like stoked about it. It’s not like he’s 21 years old. and you know at 29 there’s a good chance you’re coming down the other side of the mountain soon. But we’re not really worried about like that. We’re worried about 2026. Does he help in 2026? Uh what other pirate hit 296 last year? I mean, is there a world where that doesn’t help? That that’s an important thing to add to a team that led the league in strikeouts. This is the best of both worlds. You get a power hitter, you get a contact hitter, and you get what I think is a potential stud lefty. Maybe not ready yet, but a stud lefty nonetheless, added to the coffers. This is going to cause a couple 40man moves. We discussed it briefly when I was talking about potentially flipping somebody, but going to cause a couple 40man moves. I I I think I did a show a couple weeks ago where I told you guys there was like six or seven guys I could identify like pretty quick. I’m still there. Won’t be hard. You’ll be able to do it pretty easily. So I I mean it could be it could be any number of of guys. I’m not even going to name them all again. I just wouldn’t worry about it much. Feels to me like the Pirates made what I consider to be best case scenario type move for a guy like Lao. Another way to look at this too if you’re not comfortable with the trade is look at the password trade. Look at what they they traded for him. Okay, they move him they get him for a pitcher a pitcher that we were excited about. Johan Oedo, a pitcher we expected to give us a lot of innings this year, but a pitcher that we were running out of team control over and was in arbitration, only a couple years left. And we traded him for a guy that’s basically a prospect. You got a full bank of control of Password, but he’s also not a finished product and not a promise to be ready on opening day. There’s no guarantee he wins a spot in spring. There shouldn’t be anyway. And then look at what they just traded Mike Burroughs for three players in return. Two of them have massive amounts of team control left. One of them only has one year. So flip them. Pretend in your head that this trade was Johan Oedo. This trade looks even better. Preta pretend the other one was Mike Burroughs. all of his years of control for all of Garcia’s years of control. Maybe that makes it a little more palatable to to you. Cram it all together into a five team trade if you have to to try to make it make sense to you. The more ways I try to add it up, the more ways I wind up coming right back to where I started. This was a good trade. Say what you want about Ben Cherington. say what you always have said about Ben Cherington. But if you grade these things one by one by one, I I’m I have no choice but to say I think this was a a really brilliant trade to move Mike Burroughs and get three pieces back that could help you this year. One you’re pretty darn sure will. Hey, before we wrap here, I just want to do a quick reminder. Join the Everyday Club. Go ad free. Get access to our Discord community and support the show for just five bucks a month or $50 a year. Hit the Supercast link in the show notes. Follow me on Twitter, Gary Mo20007, and the show Locked On Pirates. Hit subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get podcasts. Thank you so much for jumping on with me for a second time today. I appreciate it. We’re serious about Pirates baseball because somebody has to be and for once Ben Harrington was today. Let’s go Bucks.

Pittsburgh Pirates shake up the NL Central by landing two-time All-Star Brandon Lowe in a three-team blockbuster with the Rays and Astros. Can Lau’s power finally ignite the Pirates’ stagnant offense and elevate them into serious contention for 2026 and beyond? Gary Morgan breaks down the trade, highlighting Brandon Lowe’s 31-homer potential, Mason Montgomery’s electric left-handed arm, and Jake Mangum’s elite contact and outfield versatility. The discussion spotlights the cost of losing rotation piece Mike Burrows, the impact of absorbing salary, and how these roster changes reshape the middle infield and lineup. Key takeaways include the urgency for another proven hitter, the future of players like Nick Gonzalez, and why Ben Cherington’s aggressive deal signals a win-now mentality for the Pirates. This the turning point Pittsburgh fans have been waiting for, or is another move still needed?

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