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Red Sox, Cooper Criswell Agree To Deal For 2026

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The Red Sox and righty Cooper Criswell have agreed to terms on a contract for the 2026 season, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray. Criswell, a client of Republik Sports, was already on the 40-man roster but wasn’t necessarily a lock to stick all offseason. He’s now agreed to a fully guaranteed $800K, per Murray, which greatly enhances his chances of staying in place.

Boston could still pass Criswell through waivers at some point this winter. He’s out of minor league options and would thus need to break camp with the club or else be designated for assignment. The fully guaranteed $800K, while only a bit north of the league minimum salary, makes it less likely that he’d be claimed by another club and also ensures that Criswell would accept an outright to the minors. He’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment upon clearing waivers by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted in the past, but he doesn’t have the service time necessary to reject and retain the remainder of that guarantee.

The 29-year-old Criswell appeared in seven games for the Sox this year, logging 17 2/3 innings of 3.57 ERA ball but with only an 11.3% strikeout rate. He’s totaled 154 2/3 innings across parts of five major league seasons and carries a career 4.48 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate between the Angels, Rays and Red Sox. He also tossed 65 2/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Worcester this season, working primarily as a starter.

While Criswell isn’t going to be penciled into next year’s rotation, he’ll be a depth option and could compete for a swing role in camp. Rotation help will be a focus for Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow this winter. Ace Garrett Crochet will again lead the rotation. He’ll be followed by Brayan Bello, but the rest of the group is more in flux. Kutter Crawford missed the entire season due to oblique and wrist injuries — the latter requiring surgery in July. Tanner Houck had Tommy John surgery this summer. Hunter Dobbins’ season ended with an ACL tear. Lucas Giolito is a free agent.

Top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early debuted late in the season and impressed to varying extents, but neither will simply be handed a rotation spot. Veteran Patrick Sandoval should be healthy after spending 2025 rehabbing from UCL surgery. Former top prospect Kyle Harrison, acquired in the Rafael Devers trade, will be in the mix — as will righty Richard Fitts. There are plenty of in-house options, but some of those names could move to the bullpen and others may need more time in Triple-A. Adding a playoff-caliber arm to the rotation mix seems likely, whether that addition comes via free agency or trade.

Tigers To Decline Option On Jose Urquidy

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The Tigers informed right-hander José Urquidy that they’re declining his $4MM option, the pitcher told reporters in Mexico yesterday (video provided by Miguel Lugo). The team has not officially announced the decision. Detroit also has yet to announce their move on Paul Sewald, though they’re certainly going to buy him out for $1MM rather than exercise their end of a $10MM mutual option.

Urquidy was recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career when Detroit signed him to a $1MM deal last March. They knew he’d miss almost all of the 2025 campaign. They guaranteed him a little more than the league minimum for his rehab year while tacking on the club option to provide a potential source of cheap innings in 2026. The move also reunited Urquidy with A.J. Hinch, his former manager in Houston.

The 30-year-old righty did make it back to the mound at the end of the season. He pitched twice out of the bullpen in September, surrendering two runs with three strikeouts and walks apiece across 2 1/3 innings. His fastball averaged 93 MPH, which is right in line with his velocity from his days with the Astros. He didn’t need to hold that velocity over a full start, but it’s also not surprising that his stuff would be marginally down in his first couple outings back from elbow surgery.

In any case, the Tigers weren’t so impressed with his form that they wanted to commit $4MM at the beginning of the offseason. They could try to circle back later in the winter, but they’ll keep their options open for the time being. Tarik Skubal will anchor the staff barring a shocking trade. Jack Flaherty exercised his $20MM player option, though the Tigers could shop him if they want to clear payroll space for a bigger swing in the rotation. Reese Olson, Casey Mize and second-year righty Troy Melton project as the final three starters. Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long are their top depth arms. Jackson Jobe might return from Tommy John surgery in the second half.

Urquidy can now hear from all 30 teams as he looks for a rotation opportunity. He was a solid fourth starter before the injury. Urquidy turned in an earned run average just below 4.00 in more than 400 innings over parts of five seasons in Houston. He gave up a few too many home runs and didn’t miss a ton of bats, but he attacks the strike zone and has neutralized opposite-handed hitters behind an excellent changeup. He should be able to find an incentive-laden big league deal. A non-contender like the Nationals, Twins or White Sox might make the most sense by offering the clearest path to a rotation spot.

Braves To Decline Club Option On Pierce Johnson

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The Braves will decline their $7MM club option on right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll receive a $250K buyout and become a free agent. Johnson is the second affordable reliever whose 2026 option has been declined by Atlanta today. The Braves also opted for a buyout over exercising Tyler Kinley’s $5.5MM option.

It’s a fairly surprising decision regarding Johnson, who’s pitched well in two-plus seasons with Atlanta — particularly in 2025. The 34-year-old righty was acquired from the Rockies at the 2023 deadline, posted a sub-1.00 ERA down the stretch and was rewarded with a two-year, $14MM contract. Johnson has pitched 115 1/3 innings of 3.36 ERA ball since putting pen to paper on that deal, including a 3.05 ERA in 59 1/3 frames this past season. He’s posted nice strikeout and walk rates overall, and in 2025 fanned one-quarter of his opponents against an 8% walk rate.

That said, Johnson will be 35 next May and is coming off a poor finish to his season. Nearly half the runs he allowed on the year came over the final month of play. From Aug. 25 onward, Johnson was rocked for nine runs on 19 hits and three walks. Four of those 19 knocks left the yard. His strikeout rate dropped nearly three percentage points, and his average fastball dipped by about 0.4 mph. Those aren’t necessarily catastrophic red flags, but it’s also surely not a finish with which he or the team is satisfied.

While both the Johnson and Kinley decisions are somewhat surprising in isolation, the broader trend of seeing teams turn down reasonably priced options early in an offseason has been around for several years. Just last offseason, we saw reasonably priced options on Colin Rea, Andrew Chafin and Danny Coulombe bought out. Those teams clearly preferred not to allocate notable resources to relievers who weren’t set to be key leverage arms in 2025 (though Johnson was a regular in high-leverage spots with Atlanta). Even as far back as 2020, Cleveland waived Brad Hand and bought him out rather than pick up a $10MM option.

It’s tempting to read a bit too deep into the Braves’ bullpen decisions today, but declining options on a pair of mid-30s relievers doesn’t necessarily serve as a portent for an uncharacteristically thrifty offseason. Atlanta is never a particularly big spender in free agency under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, but the Braves typically add a mid-tier free agent or two and are active on the trade market. More of the same could unfold. By forgoing the club options on Johnson and Kinley, their projected luxury tax number at the moment is around $197MM rather than nearly $209MM, per RosterResource.

As for Johnson, he’s coming off a nice run of two and a half seasons working as a setup man. He still sits 95-96 mph with his heater and still posted quality rate stats. He ought to command a big league deal in free agency, although the lack of a trade likely indicates that he might have a hard time exceeding the $7MM price point of his prior option.

With Johnson and Kinley out of the mix, the back-end of Atlanta’s bullpen includes Joe Jimenez, Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Anthopoulos & Co. will surely make further additions in the months ahead. The Braves have already been linked to a potential reunion with outgoing closer Raisel Iglesias, and there’s no shortage of veteran arms to peruse on this offseason’s open market.

Padres Hire Craig Stammen As Manager

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The Padres announced that they have signed former big leaguer Craig Stammen to a three-year deal to serve as their new manager. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Stammen’s hiring prior to the official announcement.

“Craig has been a strong presence in our organization for nearly a decade,” president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said in the press release. “He possesses deep organizational knowledge and brings natural leadership qualities to the Manager’s chair. As both a player and in his post-playing career, Craig has displayed an ability to elevate those around him. His strength of character, competitive nature and talent for bringing people together make him the ideal choice to lead the Padres.”

It’s yet another out-of-the-blue development from San Diego. Shortly after the Padres were eliminated from the postseason, initial reporting indicated that manager Mike Shildt was likely to stay for the 2026 season. A few days later, he surprisingly stepped down, amid reporting that Shildt’s relationship with other club employees was quite poor.

Now the news of Shildt’s replacement also comes as a surprise. Prior to the news of Stammen’s hiring, there had been no public indication that he was even a candidate for the job. Names like Ryan Flaherty, Ruben Niebla, Albert Pujols and Nick Hundley were connected to the job over the past month. Last week, reporting from Acee indicated that there were “no more than four” finalists, with Pujols, Niebla and Hundley being three of them. It would now appear that Stammen was the mystery fourth candidate.

It’s also a surprising development in that Stammen has no prior managerial or even coaching experience. He pitched in the big leagues from 2009 to 2022. The first seven of those seasons came with the Nationals and the final six with the Padres. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres going into 2023 but then suffered a major shoulder injury during spring training. He announced his retirement a few months later. In January of 2024, the Padres hired him in a player development role.

Despite the lack of dugout experience, apart from his time as a player, the Padres seem to feel that Stammen is the man for the job. They obviously know him well, as their relationship with him goes back at years at this point, combining his playing days with his recent player development role.

Still, it’s a notable gambit for the team to take, as the wobbly manager’s chair in San Diego has been a topic of conversation for years. Preller was hired back in 2014, with the Padres rebuilding for a while. Going into 2020, as they hoped the rebuild was over, they hired Jayce Tingler to be their new skipper. At the time, Tingler had a few years of coaching experience but was just 38 years old and had never been a manager. The Padres performed well in the shortened 2020 season but disappointed in 2021 amid reports that Tingler lost the clubhouse.

Going into 2022, they went for a more seasoned manager. They hired Bob Melvin, who was 60 years old and had almost two decades of managerial experience. The Friars made the playoffs in 2022 but disappointed in 2023. There were whispers that Melvin and Preller didn’t get along. The Padres let Melvin interview with the division-rival Giants and he jumped ship prior to the 2024 season.

Shildt, another baseball lifer with lots of coaching and managerial experience, was hired two years ago. The Padres won at least 90 games in each of his seasons but, as mentioned, recent reports have indicated that things weren’t pretty behind the scenes. It was also recently reported that Preller preferred to hire Ryan Flaherty over Shildt but he may have been overruled by ownership. Flaherty was 37 years old and barely removed from his playing days at the time.

Stammen, 41, is seemingly more towards the Tingler/Flaherty end of the spectrum than the Melvin/Shildt side. Perhaps that may not matter and the Padres just feel that, as an individual, he is the best man for the job. Stammen will have to jump right to the helm and try to steer the Padres forward. The club has had a lot of success in recent years and is surely hoping for more. The roster is filled with expensive veteran star players and all signs point to them continuing to attempt to contend.

For those who missed out on the gig, they are mostly out of chances for a managerial job. There were several managerial vacancies this winter but this was one of the last ones to be filled. The Rockies are the last club without a skipper, though a decision for that job is not imminent. The Rockies are first planning to hire a new front office leader. Whoever gets that job will then start the search for the club’s next manager. Dennis Lin of The Athletic relays that Niebla was the other finalist for the Padres’ job. Alden González of ESPN says Niebla is expected to return to the Friars as pitching coach next year.

Photos courtesy of Orlando Ramirez, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves this morning. Right-handers Nick Sandlin, Bowden Francis, Yimi Garcia, and Angel Bastardo were all activated from the 60-day injured list. Meanwhile, the Jays outrighted right-handers Dillon Tate, Robinson Pina, and Ryan Burr off their 40-man roster. Tate and Burr both elected free agency, while Pina will qualify for minor league free agency this evening as a player with seven years of experience. Additionally, Toronto has selected the contract of catcher Brandon Valenzuela.

Pina, 27 later this month, made his big league debut earlier this year as a member of the Marlins. His time in Miami lasted just one appearance, as he surrendered a solo home run but allowed no other traffic in his lone inning of work before being designated for assignment. Pina was traded to the Blue Jays just a couple of days later in exchange for minor league hurler Colby Martin, but once again made only one appearance for Toronto in 2025 with a 6.75 ERA in 1 1/3 innings of work. Despite his struggles in the majors in an extremely small sample, Pina did pitch to a respectable 3.58 ERA in 65 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A between his two organizations this year.

Tate, 31, spent most of the year at the Triple-A level. In 39.1 innings there, he pitched to a 2.06 ERA while getting ground balls at a 48.1% rate. He did walk 12.0% of opposing hitters though, and his 4.55 xFIP in the minors suggests that he benefited from good luck. Tate only made it into six big-league games for the Blue Jays in 2025, allowing three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight. His overall body of work is solid and includes a 3.05 ERA with just a 5.5% walk rate as recently as 2022 with the Orioles. He’ll get looks from other organizations as a depth piece.

Burr, 31, underwent season-ending surgery in July to repair a capsule injury in his right shoulder and was therefore seen as a non-tender candidate. He also missed time earlier in the year with shoulder inflammation, which led to him making just two appearances at the big-league level. In 32 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2024, Burr had a middling 4.13 ERA but struck out 33.6% of hitters while walking 8.6% and posting strong peripherals. He’ll find opportunities elsewhere if and when he is recovered from his surgery.

Turning now to the IL activations, these are largely procedural moves. Teams place players on the 60-day IL during the regular season to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. However, they must be added back during the offseason. Sandlin had been out with right elbow inflammation since early July, while Francis went down in June with a right shoulder impingement. Garcia underwent season-ending elbow surgery in August and is expected to be ready for spring training. Bastardo missed the year while recovering from Tommy John surgery. All four are controlled through at least 2026.

As for Valenzuela, the 25-year-old catcher was rated as a top-30 prospect for the Padres in 2024 before being traded to Toronto this past July. He batted a roughly average .229/.313/.387 in 87 games at Double-A but struggled with Toronto’s Triple-A team, with just a 76 wRC+ and a 30.5% strikeout rate in 105 plate appearances. Toronto, of course, has Alejandro Kirk entrenched as their starting catcher, so Valenzuela is likely a depth option behind him and Tyler Heineman.

Valenzuela would have been eligible for minor league free agency as a seven-year minor leaguer if he weren’t added to the 40-man roster. Toronto evidently didn’t want to let him get away for nothing. He still has a full slate of minor league options and can spend the next few seasons in Triple-A, but he’s the clear #3 catcher on the depth chart at the moment.

Padres To Exercise Option On Ramon Laureano

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The Padres are exercising their $6.5MM option on outfielder Ramón Laureano, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That was an easy call coming off Laureano’s excellent 2025 season.

The righty-hitting outfielder put up a .281/.342/.512 batting line with 24 home runs over 488 plate appearances. He divided that between the Orioles and Padres, who acquired him alongside Ryan O’Hearn in a deadline deal that sent six prospects to Baltimore. Laureano and O’Hearn each continued to hit well down the stretch. Laureano posted a .269/.323/.489 line with nine longballs and doubles apiece and a pair of triples in 50 games with San Diego.

A broken index finger on his right hand kept Laureano off the Padres’ Wild Card Series roster. It’s not expected to impact his availability for Spring Training and certainly wasn’t going to lead them to reconsider a bargain option price. Laureano will be back as San Diego’s starting left fielder. He’ll slot alongside Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill in the outfield for new manager Craig Stammen.

O’Hearn and Luis Arraez are both hitting free agency, so the Padres will need to find an answer at first base or designated hitter. Laureano’s presence means the Padres won’t need Gavin Sheets to play much outfield if everyone’s healthy. The lefty-hitting Sheets had a bad September but was reasonably productive overall, batting .252/.317/.429 with 19 homers. He’s not going to keep the Padres from considering alternatives at first base but projects as the starter there for now — at least against right-handed pitching.

This was the seventh and final option decision for San Diego. Laureano and Wandy Peralta are back, as the lefty reliever decided not to opt out of the remaining two years on his contract. Robert Suarez, Michael King, Elias Díaz, Tyler Wade and Kyle Hart are all free agents. Suarez and King declined their options, while the Padres bought out Díaz, Hart and Wade.

Braves Decline Club Option On Tyler Kinley

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The Braves have declined their club option on right-hander Tyler Kinley, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Kinley will receive a $750K buyout and head into free agency rather than collecting a $5.5MM salary for the 2026 season.

The move to decline Kinley’s option is something of a surprise. The right-hander pitched to a 3.96 ERA with a 3.69 FIP in 72 2/3 innings of work overall in 2025, but those solid yet unspectacular overall results don’t tell the whole story. After being traded away from Coors Field to Atlanta at the trade deadline, Kinley flourished. He posted a microscopic 0.72 ERA in 25 innings of work, striking out 23.4% of his opponents with a 6.4% walk rate. That drop in free passes was especially notable given that he’s walked 11.1% of his opponents throughout parts of eight seasons in the majors, the majority of which came as a member of the Rockies.

Between Kinley’s big step forward in Atlanta, the club’s decision to trade for him at the trade deadline in an non-competitive year in the first place, and a bullpen that already stands to lose Raisel Iglesias in free agency this winter, the $4.75MM decision to keep Kinley in the fold seemed like an easy one for the Braves to pounce on. That’s not the path they’ve chosen, however, and Kinley will now head into free agency to become one of a vast pool of interesting middle relief arms available.

The decision to decline Kinley’s option could suggest some financial limitations facing Atlanta’s front office. Last winter saw the Braves kick off the year by shedding salary in some surprising ways, dumping Jorge Soler’s contract in a trade with the Angels and declining catcher Travis d’Arnaud’s club option while restructuring a number of contracts to provide more short-term financial flexibility. Those efforts allowed Atlanta to add Jurickson Profar to their outfield mix last year, and it’s not impossible to imagine the decision to decline Kinley coming from a desire to make sure that Atlanta has the resources available they’ll need to pursue their goals this winter. It seems likely the Braves will add at least one starter to their rotation, and they’ve made no secret of their desire to retain shortstop Ha-Seong Kim after they claimed him off waivers from Atlanta back in September.

Checking those boxes on the offseason to-do list will come with significant price tags, but finding another quality relief arm for the Braves’ bullpen might be possible to do for less than the $4.75MM they’re saving by parting with Kinley. It’s not uncommon for teams to turn waiver pickups and minor league signings into stalwart bullpen pieces who wind up getting crucial outs in high leverage situations. The Dodgers uncovered a gem in that manner a few years ago when they brought Evan Phillips into the fold, while teams like the Cubs, Rays, and Brewers typically construct nearly their entire bullpen using this method. That strategy has not been on the Braves have employed in the past, instead happily investing significant dollars into contracts for players like Iglesias, Joe Jimenez, Piece Johnson and Aaron Bummer. After a disappointing 2025 season that wound up being the worst of Alex Anthopoulos’s tenure in the organization, however, it’s worth wondering if the decision to part with Kinley could suggest a change in approach.

Cubs Sign Colin Rea To One-Year Extension

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11:05am: The Cubs have officially announced Rea’s contract. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian broke down the contract structure, noting that Rea will earn $5.5MM in 2026 with a $1MM buyout on a $7.5MM club option.

7:24am: The Cubs have hammered out a restructured deal with right-hander Colin Rea, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. It’s a $6.5MM guarantee that includes a club option for the 2027 season and maxes out at $13MM over two years if that option is exercised. Rea is represented by Joe Speed.

Chicago had previously held a $6MM option or a $750K buyout for the upcoming season. The new deal supersedes the buyout, so Rea technically picks up $5.75MM in new money. That’s more than the $5.25MM difference between the option price and the buyout. Rea gets an extra $500K overall, while the Cubs secure an extra year of team control.

The 35-year-old Rea is coming off a solid season. He signed as a swingman and was pressed into the rotation by the middle of April because of the season-ending injury to Justin Steele. Rea was generally good for 5-6 competitive innings each time out. He turned in a 3.95 earned run average while ranking second on the team with 159 1/3 innings. Rea had a pedestrian 19.2% strikeout rate but he rarely issues free passes and did a decent job keeping the ball in the yard.

It’s the third straight season in which Rea has been a capable fifth/sixth starter. He spent the 2023-24 campaigns with the Brewers, combining for a 4.40 ERA with a near-20% strikeout percentage in a little less than 300 innings. Only Freddy Peralta threw more innings for Milwaukee over that two-year stretch. Rea’s flexibility has clearly endeared him to Craig Counsell, who managed him with the Brewers in 2023 and this year with Chicago.

Second-year righty Cade Horton projects as the team’s top starter at the moment. They could get Steele back at some point in the first half. Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Rea are in the mix at the middle to back end. Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown could compete for back-end spots (though the Cubs might commit to Brown as a full-time reliever sooner than later).

It’s clearly a light group for a playoff team. The Cubs figure to take a swing for at least a #2 or high-end #3 arm via trade or free agency. That’s all the more true after they declined their three-year option on Shota Imanaga. While there’s a slim chance Imanaga returns if the Cubs make him a qualifying offer, that decision seems to signal that the Cubs are aiming higher in their rotation targets.

The Cubs opened the ’25 season with a player payroll just under $193MM. RosterResource projects them around $154MM, including arbitration estimates, going into next season. They’re more than $70MM shy of the luxury tax threshold. The Rea extension nearly closes the book on the team’s option decisions. Their only remaining one is a $10MM mutual option for Justin Turner. The Cubs will easily decline their end in favor of a $2MM buyout.

Image courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images.

Don Mattingly Will Not Return As Blue Jays’ Bench Coach In 2026

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10:37am: The Phillies have discussed the possibility of hiring Mattingly to serve as bench coach under manager Rob Thomson, according to a report from Jim Salisbury of PHLY Sports.

10:19am: Don Mattingly is leaving the Blue Jays following their heartbreaking loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last week. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Mattingly won’t return to the Jays organization in 2026 after serving as their bench coach for the past three seasons. Notably, Heyman adds that Mattingly is not leaving the Jays with the intention of retiring from baseball and would be open to “the right job” if the opportunity presents itself.

That could include a managerial gig, which would be the third of Mattingly’s career. The 2020 NL Manager of the Year has 11 years of managerial experience between his time with the Dodgers and Marlins. He’s made the postseason four times as a manager and has a career 889-950 record in the dugout. The Padres have yet to settle on their next manager after Mike Shildt stepped down last month, and the Rockies have left interim manager Warren Schaeffer’s fate undecided while they focus on a search for the next leader of their front office.

That leaves two plausible places where Mattingly could land as a skipper this winter, though it’s unclear if either team actually has interest in him for the role. San Diego has reportedly already settled on a group of finalists and could be nearing a decision, while the Rockies’ preferences in the dugout won’t be known until there’s a new head of baseball operations who can be tasked with making that decision.

Even as Heyman specifically notes Mattingly would have interest in managing, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the only job that would hold appeal to the longtime veteran of the game. In addition to his lengthy career as a coach, Mattingly also has 14 years in the majors (including an MVP award in 1985) with the Yankees as a player. Mattingly’s resume and decades of baseball experience should make him someone who would be a valuable addition to almost any club in one role or another.

While Mattingly is currently seeking his next job in the game, this winter could prove to be a busy one for him. The 64-year-old is one of eight players who is on this year’s Hall of Fame Era Committee ballot. If at least 12 out of 16 panelists give Mattingly the nod, he’ll enter Cooperstown next summer. The results of that vote will be announced just over a month from now on December 7.

As for the Blue Jays, manager John Schneider will need to find a new bench coach for the 2026 season. That’s assuming that Schneider himself is returning to the Jays next year. He, like Mattingly, is on an expiring contract this winter. There’s little reason to expect that Schneider wouldn’t return to the Jays after their phenomenal 2025 campaign, however. Clarity on the specifics of the Jays’ coaching staff and any other changes that will be made aside from Mattingly’s departure could come later today, as team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are set to make themselves available to the media for an end-of-season presser later today.

Rays To Exercise Option On Brandon Lowe

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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.

[Related: Top 40 Trade Candidates of the 2025-26 MLB Offseason]

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.

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