The Pirates had the 2nd best second baseman in baseball, only behind Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers. Of course, Brandon Lowe was responsible for that ranking. Brandon Lowe had a spectacular offensive season by Pirate standards, with a slash line of .260/.331/.493 for an OPS+ of 121. Defense was supposedly his Achilles’ heel, but it wasn’t this year. He was an outstanding +13 in defensive runs saved, by far the best defensive player the Pirates had this season. The only other complaint about Lowe was that he had trouble staying on the field. From 2022 to 2024, he never played in more than 109 games in a season, and in 2022, he appeared in only 65 games. However, he seems to have solved that problem, as in 2025, he played in 134 games, and this year with the Pirates, he played in 150 games. Coming off the year Lowe had, should the Pirates make a real effort to sign him to a long-term deal? Let’s take a dive in.
The first question to answer is whether the Pirates should make Lowe a qualifying offer. I believe it would be around 23 million dollars. The answer is an emphatic yes. First, there is about a zero chance that he would accept it. This would allow the Pirates to receive compensation when he signs with somebody else. Lowe will be heading into his age 33 season, turning 33 right in the middle of the 2027 season. He is approaching his declining years. Despite the fact that he has essentially stayed healthy the last 2 years, it is far from a guarantee that he will remain on the field for the next 3 or 4 years. The real question is what he will bring on the open market. There is a lot of negative history concerning teams signing free agents in their 30s. One of the big negatives for the Pirates is that Tremar Johnson, the so called second baseman of the future, did not have a very good year in AAA, and then seriously injured his knee. I am sure Lowe is looking for a 4-year deal. If he were to settle for a 3-year deal, I think 90 million or 30 million a year would be something the Pirates could manage. There always seems to be somebody willing to overpay these players. So, let’s assume that the Pirates are unable to keep Lowe, which I think is a pretty good assumption. I think this would put Nick Gonzales back at second base. He is close to league average when he plays second. At third base, he is horrible. To me, signing Brandon Lowe is a difficult call despite a lot of people clamoring for him to be signed. I think he will probably get a 4 or even 5-year deal, which the Pirates cannot afford. There are other younger players that the Pirates will need to sign. Who knows what the new labor agreement will eventually bring, but it won’t be so different that the Pirates would have a better chance to sign Lowe.
