Brandon Lowe has been where the Pittsburgh Pirates want to go.
The veteran second baseman was part of a run of five postseason appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2019-23. The Pirates haven’t been to the postseason since 2015, but say the playoffs are their goal for 2026.
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The Pirates are hoping that Lowe can help them keep playing into October after acquiring him from the Rays on Dec. 19 in a three-team trade that included the Houston Astros. The Pirates also got left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery and out Jake Mangum from the Rays and sent right-hander Mike Burrows to the Astros.
Though the Pirates have had only one winning season in the last 10 seasons, Lowe is coming to Pittsburgh with an optimistic attitude.
“We get there, we can jump that bridge,” Lowe said of reaching the postseason. “I think the first thing you do is understand that postseason baseball, it can be the goal, it can be the endgame, but in spring training, the first four, five months of the year, don’t even focus on it. Don’t think about postseason baseball until August, September, or after you clinch.
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“Postseason baseball is a completely different animal from the season, from everything else. It’s a different beast. Having the experience, I will be an open book to anybody that wants to hear my thoughts on it. I think the biggest thing to getting there is to not focus on it.”
The Pirates’ pitching staff is postseason-caliber. The Pirates were seventh in the major leagues in ERA this past season and have a talented starting rotation anchored by 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
The Rays were in a rebuild when Lowe was drafted in 2015. When he arrived in the major leagues in 2018, the Rays won 90 games, then made the postseason each of the next five seasons.
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“I was called up right when it all started to go the right way,” Lowe said. “It just seemed like we had a good team. I kind of traced back to the clubhouse on that aspect. You definitely want that good clubhouse vibe.”