The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the offseason seeking to add a hitter with pop to their anemic offense, with the expectation that it would address their needs for a corner infielder and outfielder.
After swinging and missing on sluggers Josh Naylor and Kyle Schwarber in free agency, the Pirates opted to go up the middle and acquire a left-handed hitter with the power to take advantage of the short right field porch of the Clemente Wall at PNC Park.
The Pirates landed two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade Friday afternoon. The deal has the Pirates sending starting right-hander Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros while also acquiring left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum from the Rays, pending all of the players passing physical exams.
The 31-year-old Lowe is the headliner, especially after coming off a season in which he batted .256/.307/.477 with 19 doubles, 31 home runs and 83 RBIs while being selected an All-Star.
In November, the Rays picked up the $11.5 million option for the final season of his six-year, $24 million contract he signed in 2019, following his All-Star selection as a rookie. That makes Lowe the third-highest paid player on the Pirates this season, behind starting pitcher Mitch Keller and right fielder Bryan Reynolds.
In eight major league seasons, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Lowe has a 17.8 WAR and a .247/.326/.481 slash line with six seasons of double-digit home runs. He finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, when he batted .270 with an .850 OPS, 17 doubles, 17 homers and 51 RBIs in 82 games.
Lowe’s most productive season came in 2021, when he had a career-best 31 doubles, 39 homers and 99 RBIs in 149 games and finished 10th in American League MVP voting. He profiles as the type of power bat the Pirates desperately need, ranking in the 81st percentile per Statcast in expected slugging percentage (.474), barrel percentage and launch angle sweet spot, but his pop comes at an expense: a 33.4% whiff rate, 26.9% strikeout rate and poor defensive metrics, with minus-13 defensive runs saved last season despite leading the AL in double plays.
Montgomery is more of a project, going 1-3 with a 5.01 ERA and 1.56 WHIP while averaging 12.9 strikeouts and 5.2 walks per nine innings in 46 innings over 57 appearances the past two seasons.
The 6-2, 205-pounder has good stuff, relying heavily on a four-seam fastball with a 98.7 mph velocity that ranks in the 97th percentile that is complemented by a gyro slider. He joins veteran Gregory Soto to give the Pirates another lefty in the bullpen.
The switch-hitting Mangum hails from the same high school as top prospect Konnor Griffin — Jackson Prep in Flowood, Miss. — but attended Mississippi State and was a fourth-round pick of the New York Mets. Mangum has speed on the bases and defense, where he started 46 games in left, 30 center and 26 in right for the Rays as a rookie last season. Mangum batted .296/.330/.368 with 18 doubles, one triple, three homers, 40 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 118 games.
The 26-year-old Burrows was a highly regarded prospect before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He recovered and returned to make his major-league debut in late September 2024, then was called up in May and cracked the starting rotation ahead of top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler. Burrows went 3-4 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 96 innings over 23 appearances, including 19 starts, and averaged 9.1 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings last season.
Burrows is the second starting pitcher the Pirates have traded this offseason, after dealing righty Johan Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, who is a top-100 prospect, and a pitching prospect. Between Garcia and Magnum, the Pirates have added some depth in the outfield with a pair of players with controllable contracts who can play all three positions.
