Brandon Lowe has done just about everything the Pirates could have asked for, and that’s exactly why his contract situation is about to get uncomfortable.
Even in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night - one where Pittsburgh erased a six-run deficit over the final two innings - Lowe wasn’t the problem. He rarely has been. The second baseman has settled right into the middle of the Pirates’ lineup, and his production has been a major reason that group has ranked among the best in baseball.
Lowe is hitting .809 OPS with 22 home runs this season, and he added two hits and a homer against Arizona. He’s a two-time All-Star and, as the source article puts it, was somehow robbed of that accolade this year. If Pittsburgh gets into the playoffs, his bat will be a huge part of the reason.
The catch is simple: Lowe is on an expiring contract.
That makes the trade deadline a tricky line to walk for Ben Cherington. Right now, the focus has to be on the deadline, but once that passes, the Pirates will need to face the bigger question. Do they try to keep Lowe from reaching free agency?
One voice already made the case pretty plainly. Kevin Griffin, the father of Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, posted: “EXTEND Brandon Lowe tomorrow! No reason to wait!”
There’s obvious logic to that kind of thinking. Lowe has been one of the most reliable offensive second basemen in the sport, and even with defensive range that doesn’t jump off the page, contenders will still line up for a bat like his. That’s the problem for Pittsburgh: good hitters with flaws still get paid.
The comparison in the source material is Gleyber Torres, who has similar defensive concerns and remains a strong offensive presence. The Tigers gave Torres a qualifying offer worth $22 million last winter, and he accepted it rather than test the market.
Lowe is three years older, though, and that matters. He’s at the point where this may be his last real shot at a major multiyear deal.
If the Pirates do bring him back, it probably won’t come cheap. The article suggests a two-to-three year contract at no less than $15 million per season as a sensible starting point, and says that kind of term would also fit Pittsburgh’s timeline. The reason is Paul Skenes, who has exactly two seasons left before the final year of his own contract begins, barring a lockout.
That’s where the tension lives for the Pirates. Fans may not want to hear it, and the piece makes clear the author doesn’t love the idea either, but Cherington’s job is to balance the present and the future.
He has rebuilt the farm system well. The big-league product is a different debate.
Pittsburgh is built to chase the postseason right now, which is why the Lowe trade made sense in the first place. Whether an extension makes the same kind of sense is the tougher call.
In Other News...
Pirates Just Made A Bullpen Decision Fans Saw Coming
Dennis Santanas time in Pittsburgh took another turn this week after the Pirates moved on from the right-hander, a decision that fit the way his season had gone. He had been part of the bullpen mix, but his recent work never matched the kind of stability the club needed, even though he had shown better form in the not-too-distant past and had at least given the Pirates reason to believe there was something to work with.
Now the question is less about what went wrong in Pittsburgh and more about where Santana lands next. His contract situation makes him a relatively low-cost flier for a team in need of bullpen help, and the Pirates are still on the hook for part of the money, which softens the blow as they keep sorting through relief options. For a pitcher who has already shown he can be useful in the right stretch, there should be no shortage of clubs taking a look. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates May Have Pulled Off Their Rarest Kind Of Trade Win
When the Pirates sent KeBryan Hayes to Cincinnati on July 30, the deal looked like a straightforward reset: Pittsburgh got reliever Taylor Rogers, infield prospect Sammy Stafura and cash considerations, while moving on from a former cornerstone who had lost his offensive footing. It did not take long for the transaction to start looking better for the Pirates on multiple fronts, because Hayes has struggled badly at the plate in Cincinnati and Stafura has been turning heads in High-A Greensboro with the kind of production that can change a prospects status quickly.
Pittsburgh also did not sit on the return it got from the Reds. Rogers was flipped to the Cubs for outfield prospect Ivan Brethowr, adding another young piece to the organizations pipeline and giving the Pirates a second crack at value from the same trade. For a club that has spent years trying to do more with less, this is the kind of rare trade outcome that can matter long after the deadline passes, even if the final accounting still has a few important chapters left to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Just Sent A Troubling Message About Ben Cherington's Deadline Plans
Ahead of an important series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Pirates made a set of roster tweaks that looked more like a shuffle from within than a push from outside. Jhostynxon Garcia, Hunter Barco and Noah Murdock were recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, while Tyler Callihan, Isaac Mattson and Brandon Eisert were sent back down, giving Pittsburgh a fresh mix of position-player help and bullpen arms without reaching beyond the organization.
Garcia gives the Pirates another right-handed bat in place of Callihan, and the pitching side of the move suggests the club wanted to reset a relief group that has been carrying a heavy load. Barco and Murdock arrive to help cover innings, with Murdock standing out as the more interesting name after a strong minor-league run, but the broader picture is still the one that matters most to Pittsburgh fans: these are internal fixes, and they leave the question of how aggressive Ben Cherington will be when the trade deadline arrives hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]