Brandon Lowe was still processing the idea of playing for a major-league team other than the Tampa Bay Rays after being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates when it was suggested that PNC Park suits his profile.
It didn’t take long for the two-time All-Star second baseman, a left-handed hitter who has pulled half of his 157 career home runs, to find the short porch in right field inviting and imagine the idea of sending a shot over the 21-foot Clemente Wall and into the Allegheny River. Lowe hit 28 of his 31 homers last season to either right or right-center.
“It seems like it’s going to be a good fit,” Lowe said Monday afternoon on a video conference call. “The dimensions of the ballpark play into where my power alleys lie and you know, something about seeing a ball going flying into the river seems very, very exciting.”
So does the possibility of batting between Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds in the Pirates’ order. Although Lowe has yet to homer at PNC Park, he has a pair of 30-homer seasons and has averaged 30 homers over 162 games in his career.
Lowe got an up-close look at Cruz’s power over the All-Star festivities last July, watching as the Pirates center fielder put on a spectacular display of power to reach the finals.
“Watching him hit a baseball is a little infuriating at times, I feel like, for pretty much every other baseball player in the league,” Lowe said of Cruz, whose 20 homers led the Pirates last season and included one at an MLB-best 122.9 mph exit velocity. “He hits the absolute mess out of the baseball. He’s extremely fun to watch. He’s explosive. It translates bat to ball.”
Lowe called Reynolds “Mr. Consistency,” comparing the Pirates right fielder to Rays slugger Yandy Diaz for providing a “fantastic at-bat every single time.” Lowe will be expected to provide protection in the lineup for the Pirates’ top run-producers and give them another.
“Whether I’m slotted between those two, behind them, whatnot, I think the whole group is going to feed off each other,” Lowe said. “If you have to go Cruz-me-Reynolds, there’s no breaks. There’s no situation where a pitcher can take a pitch off and make a mistake and get away with it. Everybody in that section can hurt you, and I think that’s one of the things that truly helps a lineup together. If I don’t get the job done, runner on third base, I know Bryan’s going to come through and pick me up. It’s a comforting feeling, relaxing almost, where I don’t have to stress in my at-bat to get the job done. In turn, relaxes the body, things go better, chances are you get the job done yourself. That type of trust and faith in the lineup and in the team around you is going to help everybody bolster their game a little bit.”
The concept of being traded was emotional for Lowe, 31, who closed the chapter on his Rays career after being drafted in the third round by them and spending eight major-league seasons in Tampa. It was soon replaced by the excitement of Pirates fans who celebrated the arrival of a position player who can add pop to an offense that finished last in MLB in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS.
“That was most of the conversation, really, was talking about that,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “And I knew that it was likely to shake him, and kind of coming right at the holidays and all that. He’s only known one uniform. So we had a nice talk about it. I think he was somewhat prepared for it. He’s been in an organization where this kind of thing happens, so I don’t think he was shocked by it. I think he was still processing it at the time that I talked (with) him. But I could also hear the excitement in his voice about the new opportunity.”
And Cherington was just as excited about the leadership he envisions Lowe will bring to the Pirates following a 91-loss season, especially with postseason experience that includes a World Series appearance in 2020. Lowe broke in with the Rays in August 2018, a year before they began a run of making the playoffs five times in six years.
“I think one of the biggest things that truly helps the product on the field is a good clubhouse,” Lowe said. “When the guys are close, joking around, having a great time, teasing each other in the clubhouse, but when you get on the field and step in between the lines, it’s my guys against you. You’ll do anything for those guys on the field. I think it’s the great thing about being in the big leagues. There’s nowhere else to go. There’s no higher level. There’s no, ‘I want to do better than this guy on my team so I get the playing time’ type of thing. This is it. The only thing left to do is win.”
