Tampa Bay Rays’ Brandon Lowe, right, celebrates with on-deck batter Junior Caminero after scoring on an RBI triple by Josh Lowe off Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
This is one in a series breaking down players on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.
No need was more obvious for the Pittsburgh Pirates than improving an offense that ranked last in baseball in 2025 in runs scored, home runs and OPS.
One target that Pirates had long been linked to was Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, who finally landed in Pittsburgh via a three-team trade in December.
The Pirates acquired Lowe — along with outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery — from the Rays and sent right-handed starter Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros. On paper, the trade looks like a smart move for the Pirates with Lowe being the headliner of the deal.
Lowe was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2015 draft and has spent eight years with the Rays after making his debut in 2018. The 31-year-old owns a .247/.326/.481 batting line with 157 home runs and 446 RBI in 745 games in his career.
Since the start of the 2019 season, only two second baseman have more home runs than Lowe (151) despite only playing in 702 games. He trails only the New York Mets’ Marcus Semien (178 home runs in 986 games) and Jose Altuve (158 home runs in 857 games) of the Houston Astros.
Lowe’s 2025 season resulted in his second career All-Star campaign and 134 games played — the second-highest total of his career. The left-handed hitter finished the year with a .256/.307/.477 batting line, 31 home runs and 83 RBI.
While Lowe’s bat should provide a big boost to the lineup, his glove has left plenty to be desired in recent seasons. Last year, Lowe finished with minus-14 defensive runs saved and minus-13 outs above average.
Staying on the field has also been an issue for Lowe throughout his career. He’s played in 100-plus games in only four of his eight seasons in the big leagues and hasn’t played in at least 135 since a career-high 149 games played in 2021.
But given the impact Lowe has had when healthy and the cost it took to land him — not to mention the other pieces involved — the trade was a worthwhile gamble for the Pirates, and one they are hoping will improve the offense enough to where the team will be in contention for a spot in the playoffs.
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