Pirates Named Trade Partner for Rays Second Baseman

Lowe is coming off one of the best years of his career, as he slashed .256/.307/.477 for an OPS of .784 in 134 games, with 130 hits, 19 doubles, 31 home runs, 83 RBIs and 38 walks to 149 strikeouts.

He earned an All-Star nod for his performance, just the second of his career. He earned his first as a rookie in 2019, slashing .270/.336/.514 for an OPS of .850 in 82 games, including 17 home runs.

Should the Pirates Trade for Lowe?

The Pirates ranked last in baseball in home runs last season (117), 31 home runs less than the St. Louis Cardinals, who hit the second least amongst MLB teams at 148 home runs.

Pittsburgh also posted the lowest slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655) in baseball, while scoring the least runs (561) and driving in the least RBI (583), with even the 43-119 Colorado Rockies doing better than them.

Lowe's 31 home runs last season were 11 more than the next Pirates player, which was center fielder Oneil Cruz at 20 home runs.

He has also hit more than 20 home runs in the four seasons he's played more than 100 games and would immediately make the Pirates a better hitting team if they brought him on.

Lowe is also a left-handed batter, which is something the Pirates are looking for and which would give him an edge at PNC Park, with a right field wall that is closer than the right field wall.

The concerns for trading for Lowe is his injury history, as his 134 games last season were the most he's played outside of 2021, where he featured in 149 games.

He had back issues in 2022 that limited him to 65 games and that kept him out for a month in 2023. He also fractured his right knee cap after fouling a ball off it later that September and missed another month of play in 2024 with a right oblique strain.

Lowe also ranked as one of the worst defensive second baseman in baseball last season, with his -10 runs prevented and -13 outs above average, second worst at his position andonly ahead of Kansas City Royals' Jonathan India.

He also makes $11.5 million for a club option in 2026, marking the end of his contract he signed back in 2019.

The Pirates must consider whether it's worth giving up key pieces for Lowe, especially if they don't know they will re-sign him after this season.

Will the Pirates Trade for Lowe?

Free agency is generally a period where the Pirates don't spend much, ranking near the bottom of payroll most seasons, and don't sign many players, last signing a multi-year position player back in 2015.

Recent reports have shown that the Pirates will try and spend this offseason, as they build a better lineup for the 2026 season.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said at the general manager meetings in Las Vegas two weeks ago that they have more "flexibility" and will act more "aggressively" than in years past, which shows intent from the front office.

The Pirates have reportedly shown interest in free agents in National League MVP finalistKyle Schwarber, who hit 56 home runs last season, San Diego Padres designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco and Japanese superstars inKazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami.

Pittsburgh is also eyeing other targeted left-handed hitters from the Cardinals in Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman in a trade.

Another left-handed bat the Pirates are looking at is New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, who they'd also have to get via trade.

Rosenthal and Woo see the Pirates more likely to land players like Lowe and others mentioned by trade than free agency, so if the Pirates are actually serious about making moves this offseason, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see Lowe in Pittsburgh next year.