Every award nod Brandon Lowe picks up only sharpens the same question hanging over the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason: how do you keep a player who just made himself this valuable?
Lowe is now a finalist for the National League Silver Slugger at second base, joining Milwaukee Brewers standout Brice Turang. That comes on the heels of his National League Gold Glove finalist recognition, a nod to the defensive rebound he delivered in his first season in Pittsburgh.
For the Pirates, the timing is both flattering and frustrating. Lowe’s first year in town was exactly the kind of impact season they needed, and now it has pushed him into the kind of free agency market that gets expensive fast.
He finished 2026 with a .260/.331/.493 line, 35 home runs, 96 RBI and an .824 OPS. No major league second baseman hit more homers. He also set a career high with 5.4 bWAR, and his presence helped lift a Pirates offense that had finished dead last in baseball in 2025 all the way to the club’s first winning season since 2018.
That kind of production is why the Pirates are staring at a difficult decision. Lowe is heading into free agency after one of the most complete seasons of his career, and his value is not limited to the batter’s box.
His defense changed the conversation, too. After ending 2025 with minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-14 Outs Above Average with Tampa Bay, Lowe posted plus-13 DRS and plus-15 OAA in Pittsburgh. Turang ultimately took the Gold Glove, but Lowe’s two-way value was impossible to miss.
The Pirates tried to get ahead of the market Monday by extending Lowe a one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer. If he turns it down and signs elsewhere, Pittsburgh would receive draft compensation. But that offer is unlikely to outweigh the chance to land a bigger multiyear payday.
MLB Trade Rumors projects Lowe at three years and $69 million. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel goes even higher, projecting four years and $80 million. For a franchise that has rarely pushed into that territory for established free agents, those numbers matter.
There is risk here, of course. Lowe will be entering his age-32 season, and his strikeout rate still raises questions.
There’s also no guarantee the defensive gains hold up over a longer deal. But the other side of the ledger is just as clear: letting him walk would leave another major gap in a lineup that still needs help, especially against left-handed pitching.
The Pirates spent years looking for this kind of player. They finally found one, and the league is noticing. Now the hard part begins.
In Other News...
Pirates Just Entered The Offseason That Will Define This Core
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ESPNs early 2027 power rankings reflected that shift by placing Pittsburgh inside the top 10, but the bigger question is what comes next. Young talent like Konnor Griffin and Esmerlyn Valdez gives the Pirates a foundation worth believing in, yet the roster still has obvious areas that need attention if the club wants to stay on a playoff track. Development can carry part of the load, but it cannot be the whole plan, and this offseason looks like the one that will show whether Pittsburgh is ready to supplement its youth or simply ask it to do even more. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Are Taking A Risk With Derek Curiels Development
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Curiels broken ankle is only part of the equation, because Pittsburgh also wants him to add strength and refine his swing before he starts playing for real. It is a familiar method for this front office, one that has been used before with prospects the club believes need more physical maturation, but it also comes with an obvious tradeoff: every month spent in the training room is a month without game action, and that can matter for a player whose next step is still being carefully mapped out. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Face A Brandon Lowe Decision Fans Know Too Well
The Pirates are again staring at a familiar kind of offseason crossroads, only this one comes with a price tag the franchise has rarely approached. Brandon Lowe is now in the middle of a decision that could force Pittsburgh to weigh short-term flexibility against the kind of longer-term commitment the club has historically been reluctant to make, even as it has already put a one-year qualifying offer on the table.
What makes the situation stand out is how far beyond the Pirates usual comfort zone it reaches. The club has not signed a free agent to a deal bigger than Francisco Lirianos three-year, $39 million contract from 2014, and keeping Lowe would require a much more aggressive financial leap than that. For a team that has spent years avoiding that level of commitment, this is the sort of choice that can define an offseason before it really gets going. [Read more 🡒]