The Pirates have found real offensive life this season, but the fix hasn’t been enough to cover for a pitching staff that has dragged the club down.
At the center of Pittsburgh’s lineup surge has been Brandon Lowe, the left-handed second baseman who arrived last offseason in a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros. He’s rewarded the Pirates with one of the strongest seasons of his career, launching 30 home runs and posting an .803 OPS - a mark that would be his best since 2021 with the Rays.
Now comes the hard part. Lowe is headed for free agency at the end of the year, and keeping him may require a serious financial commitment. Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly noted that Pittsburgh is likely to extend a qualifying offer, but Lowe could still reject it and test the market.
"Presumably, the Pirates will give Lowe a qualifying offer, and he'll likely turn it down. But being saddled with the QO and having an injury history may suppress Lowe's market," Kelly wrote.
Kelly also suggested the 32-year-old would prefer a four-year deal, though that kind of contract may be a stretch.
"The 32-year-old would probably love to get a four-year deal, but two or three seasons seems more likely," Kelly added. "Will Bob Nutting pony up to keep Lowe with the Buccos?"
That question hangs over Pittsburgh because the Pirates are not known for handing out long-term free-agent contracts. Their usual approach leans toward shorter commitments, and Lowe’s big season may be enough to push him into the two- or three-year range.
If the Pirates don’t go that far, they could lose one of the key bats that helped transform their offense.
In Other News...
Pirates Own Up To A Costly Mistake Fans Wont Forget
A quiet but damaging moment in the Pirates game against the Brewers came on the bases, where a chance to add to the board vanished because of a routing mistake involving Nick Gonzales and Ryan OHearn. Third base coach Tony Beasley later took responsibility, saying he did not see the ball clearly and told Gonzales to hold at third, turning what should have been a live scoring opportunity into an avoidable pause in the action.
For a Pirates club that has spent plenty of time searching for clean execution, these are the kinds of plays that linger because they are so fixable. Gonzales said he simply followed the instruction he was given, which puts the focus squarely on the coaching box and leaves the larger question hanging around a team that cannot afford to give away chances like that, especially in a tight game against Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Had No Margin For Error Against Milwaukee After One Costly Mistake
Jacob Misiorowski kept the Pirates off balance for five scoreless innings, and the margin for Pittsburgh never really got any wider after that. Milwaukees starter lowered his season ERA to 1.89 and picked up his 15th win of the year, while the Pirates scratched out just five hits and spent most of the night trying to recover from a game that slipped further away in the fourth inning.
Pittsburgh finally got on the board in the eighth, but by then the damage was done. A baserunning error earlier in the game helped stall any early momentum, and against a Brewers club that kept adding pressure, the Pirates were left with too little room to work with in a 5-1 loss. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Turned PNC Park Into A Painful Reminder For Pirates Fans
PNC Park offered a blunt reminder of where the Pirates stand in the NL Central picture as the Brewers left town with a division-clinching win and a celebration of their own. Milwaukees victory, combined with the Braves help against the Cubs, secured the Brewers their fourth consecutive NL Central title and made them the first franchise to run off four straight in the division since 1994.
For Pittsburgh, it was another night that underlined the gap between a club still trying to rebuild and one that has turned consistency into a yearly habit. The Pirates remain below .500 under general manager Ben Cherington, while the Brewers keep extending their run of sustained success under Matt Arnold, a contrast that has become harder for Pirates fans to miss each time Milwaukee comes through Pittsburgh with something meaningful on the line. [Read more 🡒]