The Rays have informed second baseman Brandon Lowe that they’ll exercise his $11.5MM club option for the 2026 season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’s the final season on the extension Lowe signed back in March 2019. He’ll wind up having earned $45MM over the eight years on that deal. Lowe is slated to become a free agent next offseason.
There was never any doubt as to whether the option would be exercised. The 31-year-old Lowe has been a consistently above-average hitter throughout his big league tenure, dating all the way back to his MLB debut in 2018. That includes 2025, when Lowe slugged 31 home runs in just 134 games. The lefty-swinging slugger turned in an overall .256/.307/.477 batting line. While his 6.9% walk rate was the lowest of his career, Lowe’s 91.1 mph average exit velocity and 46.4% hard-hit rate were some of the best he’s posted in his eight major league seasons.
The only real uncertainty surrounding Lowe’s option was whether it’d be the Rays or another club picking it up. With just one more year of control on his deal and the Rays’ penchant for trading veteran players as the end of their control windows near, Lowe stands as an obvious trade candidate. Tampa Bay could’ve flipped him to another club before the option decision was due — they could still do the same with closer Pete Fairbanks and his still-pending $11MM option/$1MM buyout, it should be noted — but at least for the time being, Lowe will slot in as the projected second baseman next year.
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Over the course of his eight big league seasons, Lowe is a .247/.326/.481 hitter with 157 home runs, 126 doubles, 12 triples, 33 steals, a 9.4% walk rate and a 27.3% strikeout rate. He’s typically graded out as a solid defensive second baseman, though he was dogged by both Defensive Runs Saved (-14) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-13) during the 2025 season.
Lowe spent time on the injured list due to both oblique and ankle/foot injuries. It’s feasible that either or both could’ve impacted his performance on the defensive side of the coin. His defensive grades have fluctuated wildly on a year-to-year basis, which perhaps isn’t a major surprise for a player who’s previously been sidelined by back injuries, a bone bruise in his shin and, near the end of the 2023 season, a fractured right patella (kneecap).
Even if Lowe never reclaims his status as an above-average defender following that Sept. 2023 knee injury, his bat will keep him in major league lineups. A move to another position could eventually be possible, too. He’s logged more than 300 innings in the outfield corners over his career, though he’s no longer the above-average runner he was early on, ranking in the 36th percentile of position players with his 2025 sprint speed. Lowe has drawn fine grades in 155 innings at first base as well, and his 30-homer power would play well at that position if a full-time move is needed at any point.
I still think Rays will trade him.
I think the trade rules might bar him from being traded until June. He will be a valuable trade chip at the deadline if he maintains his performance.. Smart move by the Rays.
That rule only applies to free agents. Brandon Lowe wasn’t a free agent, so the Rays picking up his option doesn’t prevent them from trading him.
NateBob is correct. You can trade a player whose option is picked up. You cannot trade a player who accepts a qualifying offer or is signed as a free agent until June 15 of the following season (barring said player’s consent to the trade, for which they usually try to extract additional compensation).
They may. $11.5 million for 30+ Home Run power is pretty affordable for most teams. The Giants need a real Second Baseman. The Angels need a LH power bat. The Mariners, Tigers, and even the Blue Jays (if Bichette leaves and they keep Gimenez at SS) could all be interest
I want him to be a fit with the Giants. I just don’t know if his swing is a fit for Oracle Park.
If they’re not planning on a playoff appearance, then they should trade him.
I don’t think they will. It’s gonna be tough to move him for much of anything. He’s expensive, he’s a rental… and worse, he’s one of the worst defenders in baseball who makes atrocious swing decisions.
I just don’t see many teams giving up a premium for him.
So if the Rays are willing to take a bad return just to clear $11.5M, I could see it.
Natebob I’d be curious your thoughts on the return now that it has happened?
I don’t think Melton or Brito are all that great. Brito is objectively the best player the Rays got in return, but he’s probably 2-3 years away. Melton is a serious downgrade from Jake Mangum.
In fact, in order to offload that $11.5M, the Rays had to give up Mangum + Montgomery.
Also, the best player (aside from Lowe) in that deal didn’t even go to Tampa Bay. Mike Burrows went to Houston in that deal.
The Rays were probably okay with taking a lesser return because they had something lined up for Shane Baz, in which they got an absolute haul. But this wasn’t a great return for Brandon Lowe. There’s a small bit of upside, but I wouldn’t count on it.
It’s a new ownership group and the team, and the fans, have just suffered through a season in a minor league ballpark. Sure, see what you can get for Lowe and/or Fairbanks, but unless it’s a really attractibe haul, there is value in retaining these players — who are at reasonable salaries — and showing the fans that these are not the same old Rays.
I think Lowe and Yandy are at peak value (especially after playing at The Stein), but I agree, there is value in retaining these players also because it will help Caminero develop if he has protection around him. Based on the 2024 trades, I don’t trust that the Rays would get back MLB-ready prospects that we’d see any time soon if they did trade Lowe and company.
I think he is going to love Kansas City!