The Pittsburgh Pirates are linked to Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe in trade rumors. A deal would make sense for the Pirates in some ways, but wouldn’t in other ways.

The Pirates could use a left-handed hitter with power, and Lowe has hit 157 home runs over his eight-year career. The 31-year-old was an All-Star this year for the second time in his career as he hit .256/.307/.477 with 31 homers.

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The Rays exercised the $11.5-million option in Lowe’s contract for 2026 last month, but he can become a free agent at the end of the season. While that salary isn’t high by most baseball standards, it would be a lot for the frugal Pirates. Furthermore, there would be little chance he would stay with the Pirates beyond next season – or even next year’s trade deadline if they are out of contention.

So, what would the Pirates have to give up in a trade to acquire Lowe? Not a lot if they pick up his entire salary.

The best way to get a trade done is to make it a multi-player deal. The Pirates could offer catcher Henry Davis and right-hander Thomas Harrington, two players who need a change of scenery.

It is becoming apparent that Davis will not live up to the expectations that came with being the first overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft. In 186 games over three seasons, Davis has a career .167/.234/.278 slash line with 15 home runs. Considering he is 26, it might still be early to write him off, but it’s obviously not going to happen for him in Pittsburgh.

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Harrington entered last season ranked as the 74th-best prospect in the game by Baseball America and nearly made the starting rotation out of spring training. Then everything unraveled when the season began. Harrington pitched three times for the Pirates and had a 15.88 ERA and also struggled at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 7-9 with a 5.34 ERA in 21 games.

A telling sign of how much Harrington’s stock has fallen is that Baseball America now doesn’t even rank him among the Pirates’ top 10 prospects.

One Rays’ prospect who could interest the Pirates is another left-handed second baseman, Cooper Kinney. The Rays drafted Kinney in the first round in 2021 and, though his professional career hasn’t gained traction, the 22-year-old has reached double-digit home runs in each of the last three minor-league seasons. This year, he went deep 13 times in 117 games for Double-A Montgomery while hitting .242/.299/.386.

The Rays could also add right-hander Mason Englert to give the Pirates some bullpen depth. The 26-year-old pitched in 29 games this year and had a 3.83 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.

Would the Pirates be giving up too much for a short-term player? Would getting two players besides Lowe make the trade more palatable? Both questions are interesting to ponder.