PITTSBURGH - Brandon Lowe has done more than give the Pirates a boost at second base this season. He has become the kind of player a team thinks twice - and then thinks again - before letting walk out the door.
Lowe is out of contract after this season, and that puts Pittsburgh in a tough spot. He’s set to hit the market as one of the top free agents available, and the Pirates will have plenty of competition if they want to keep him. For a club trying to build something lasting, losing a player like Lowe would leave a hole that isn’t easy to patch.
The appeal was obvious when Pittsburgh traded for him last offseason. Lowe brought left-handed pop that was supposed to play well at PNC Park, and that part has absolutely shown up. He has 29 home runs, with 26 of them going to right field and 15 coming at home, all of them clearing the Roberto Clemente Wall, which stands 21 feet high.
One of those swings stood out in a big way: a walk-off home run off the right-field foul pole for a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 19.
The power numbers have made Lowe the Pirates’ top home run threat this season. His 29 homers are the most by any Pirates player this year, and they’re also the most ever by a Pirates second baseman in a single season, passing the 23 Neil Walker hit in 2014. He ranks 10th in the National League and 19th in MLB in home runs.
Across the league, Lowe has also stacked up as the best power-hitting second baseman in baseball. He leads the position in home runs, is tied for the best slugging percentage at .474, and sits second in OPS at .801.
That matters for a Pirates offense that was the worst power-hitting group in baseball last season. Lowe changed that equation, and Pittsburgh simply doesn’t have another player who can replace those numbers if he leaves.
The surprise has been that the glove has come along too.
Defense was the big question when Lowe arrived, and for good reason. In 2025, he posted -14 outs above average and -14 defensive runs saved, numbers that were the worst and second-worst among all second basemen.
This year has gone in the opposite direction. Lowe has 14 OAA and 13 DRS in 2026, which puts him second and tied for fourth among second basemen.
Pirates infield coach Chris Truby has worked extensively with him, and Lowe has turned that into real progress. He’s grown into one of the team’s more confident defenders and has put himself into the Gold Glove conversation.
He has also been a clear upgrade over Nick Gonzales at the position, who had 3 OAA and -11 DRS last season and would do so again if he returns to Pittsburgh.
Lowe said the defensive improvement has been a point of pride.
“Yeah, we’ve been working really hard to make sure we’ve taken a good jump in the right direction for that whole thing," Lowe said after the Pirates' 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 13.
"Our guys, whenever they show that rubber, have given the best that they can, so I want to be able to make sure that I give them the best defense that I can out there. I think it’s going pretty well this year.”
That game against the Cubs was a snapshot of why the Pirates value him so much. Lowe delivered a two-run pinch-hit single in the sixth inning to push Pittsburgh ahead 4-2, then made a leaping catch in the eighth to rob Ian Happ of a hit.
Lowe climbed the ladder for that one! pic.twitter.com/6l3p0kxiX8
For a Pirates team trying to turn the corner, those kinds of moments matter. Pittsburgh last finished above .500 in 2018 and last reached the postseason in 2015. This year, the club is 75-75 with 12 games left, but still 6.5 games out in the National League Wild Card race.
The standings make the immediate path difficult, but the bigger point is harder to miss: teams building a winning culture need players who can swing games in one at-bat and save runs with one play in the field. Lowe has done both.
He’s also become a presence in the clubhouse, the kind of veteran younger players can lean on.
Pirates rookie starter Bubba Chandler pointed to Lowe’s impact, from the glove to the bat to the way he carries himself.
"I’ll start with the defense," Chandler said. "He was pegged with being a better hitter than fielder over his career.
He’s an unbelievable hitter, but I think what he’s done in the field is pretty darn good. He’s a heck of a second baseman.
He doesn’t really get the credit he deserves. It’s tough when you have a Wetherholt in your division.
Turang in your division.
"But he came off cold today, came in got the biggest hit of the night. It’s a testament to how much of a pro he is and how he goes about his business, how he prepares to be ready for that moment. He’s a spark.
"Dude has had an unbelievable career and unbelievable year. It’s little stuff like him not being an All-Star that pisses everyone in here off.
What he means to the team is everything. I hope he sticks around.
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