Tag: Trade No. 2

The Pirates made their 2nd trade of the off-season this past weekend. They acquired Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Mason Montgomery. They gave up Mike Burrows. I have a hard time believing how positively this trade has been received by the Pittsburgh media. The same people who think Ben Cherington should have been fired are now thinking he is brilliant. There is no question this trade could work out for all the clubs involved. The Tampa Bay Rays got two high prospects from the Houston Astros. In this blog, I will look at only the players the Pirates received and who they had to give up. The other news is that Japanese star Munetaka Murakami signed a 2-year, 34 million dollar deal with the Chicago White Sox. Another example of Ben Cherington being asleep at the wheel. Let’s look at the players that are involved in the latest Pirate trade.

Brandon Lowe: He is the biggest piece. Brandon Lowe has had some injury problems that have limited his ability in the last 4 years. His 4-year slash line is .241/.317/.444. His OPS+ over this time is 113. Last year he hit 31 home runs; he hit 16 on the road and 15 at home. He was much better on the road overall last year. He had a 134 OPS+ on the road and 98 at home. This bodes well for the Pirates. He is a below-average fielder, and that is being kind. He will turn 32 in July. This may not be a factor in Pittsburgh, but he has not performed well in the postseason. In 120 plate appearances, his slash line is .115/.167/.257. He will become a free agent in 2027. He is going to be a 1-year rental. The good news here is that many times a player performs really well in his last contract year. Even though the Pirates are not saying this, I would not be surprised if he becomes the primary DH. There is little question in my mind that he will be a considerable upgrade no matter where the Pirates use him.

Jake Mangun: Even though Lowe captured the headline, Jake Mangun may be the best piece of this trade. He will be 30 years old in March. He has only played one year in the majors. He does not have any power. He is a switch hitter. He had a nice 2025 season. He slashed .296/.330/.368 for an OPS+ of 96. He stole 27 bases with a 79% success rate. He is a plus fielder. He is essentially Tommy Pham with speed. He spent 4 seasons in AAA ball where he slashed .313/.357/.439. The Pirates may have found their leadoff man. What I find interesting is that the Rays never used him in that role. He batted in the middle of the lineup, 4 through 6. There is no doubt he would be considered a late bloomer. They do happen, and it would be nice for the Pirates if he turns out this way. He is not going to be a free agent until 2031. I would be even higher on this guy if the Rays hadn’t been the ones to let him go. Maybe it was his lack of power. If the Pirates use him right, and that is leading him off, he could be the best thing about this trade.

Mason Montgomery: Left handed relief pitcher. With the addition of him and Soto a weakness has turned into a strength. Montgomery was up and down between AAA and Tampa all of 2025. You have to wonder why? He appeared in 57 games for the Rays. In 37 of them he gave up no runs. In 13 others he gave up one run. His last outing on September 10th he gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning which caused his ERA to jump almost a run to 5.67. He was sent down and never pitched again. Hopefully the new pitching coaches can help him with his command because this guy has good stuff. In 55 innings he averaged close to 13 strikeouts per 9 innings. At the very least he has some great potential from the left side.

Mike Burrows: The bad news is that he went to Houston. Whatever they do, they bring out the best in every pitcher that goes there. Even elite pitchers are even greater when they go to Houston. Gerrit Cole never achieved the heights that he did with Houston, even when he went to the Yankees. In his 2 years in Houston, he had an ERA+ of 164. If you take his best 2 years out of 5 in Pittsburgh, he averaged 130. Take his best two years in New York, and it’s 158. The same thing can be said about the great Justin Verlander. His best years were with Houston. They obviously see something in Burrows. Burrows last year only threw 96 innings, coming off Tommy John surgery. Fortunately, Houston is not in our division.

The Pirates have helped themselves with this trade. It would be hard not to help themselves with almost any acquisition. It will depend on how they use these players. Frankly, I like Brandon Lowe as the primary DH. Keeping him off the field should help with the defense and his health. He has not DH’d a lot, but when he has, he has been effective. In 2024, with 150 plate appearances as a DH, he slugged .598. Last year, he only had 39 PA’s but still slugged .638. Mangum looks to be the leadoff hitter that the Pirates have never had. He has speed and a good glove. That is the question. Will the Pirates use these players properly? Only time will tell. Mason Montgomery is another left-handed upgrade for the bullpen. There is still work to be done. The Pirates let one slip through their hands yesterday. It is looking more and more like Eugenio Suarez could be the next signing. Despite his many shortcomings—lots of strikeouts, low batting average, and not a great defender—he too would be an asset. I just can’t see him settling for a 2-year deal. He is going to turn 35 in July. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates take the risk and for how long. You never really know how a trade is going to turn out. If the Pirates had unloaded Mitch Keller in either of these trades I would be feeling a lot better about them. It is good to see the Pirates doing SOMETHING. I’m just not sure it is going to have much impact yet.