Brandon Lowe Trade Grades: How Pirates, Rays, Astros Fared in Three-Team Deal

Here's how each club fared in the six-player trade.

Lowe, an American League All-Star in 2025, belted 31 home runs for the Rays. / Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

MLB's trade market heated up on Friday, as the hot stove produced an intradivision deal sending Rays promising starting pitcher Shane Baz to the Orioles in exchange for four prospects, as well as a three-team deal headlined by Rays All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe landing in Pittsburgh with the Pirates.

While the deal between the Orioles and Rays may have had a clearer winner, things get more complicated when there's three teams involved. So, between the Pirates, who acquired a much-needed power bat, the Rays, who netted a pair of highly-regarded prospects, and the Astros, who landed a club-controlled, young starter, let's take a deep dive and examine how each club really fared.

Grading the Brandon Lowe, Pirates-Rays-Astros trade

Pirates receive: 2B Brandon Lowe, LHP Mason Montgomery, OF Jake Mangum

Rays receive: OF Jacob Melton and RHP Anderson Brito

Astros receive: RHP Mike Burrows

Pirates
Grade: A-

Pittsburgh entered the offseason with two primary needs—a power bat and a corner outfielder. After striking out in its pursuit of slugger Kyle Schwarber and given the steep asking price for free agents Alex Bregman and Cody Bellinger, the club turned its attention to the trade market for lineup help. And in doing so, general manager Ben Cherington killed two birds with one stone while also adding to the team's pitching depth in the process.

Lowe, 31, has had trouble staying healthy during his career and his glove may be declining, but he is coming off of one of his best seasons, a campaign that saw him belt 31 home runs while being named to the second All-Star team of his career. A pending free agent after the 2026 season, he is due to be paid $11.5 million next year, a small price to pay for the offense-starved Pirates, who ranked last in MLB in runs scored and OPS.

The fact that the acquisition of Lowe also netted outfielder Jake Mangum was even sweeter. Mangum, who in 2025 made his MLB debut at the age of 29 after spending five seasons in the minors, hit .296 and swiped 27 bases while posting just a 15% strikeout rate in 118 games. With Oneil Cruz penciling in at center field and Bryan Reynolds likely to man right field, Mangum should see most of his playing time in left field in Pittsburgh. Pitcher Mason Montgomery, once a highly-regarded prospect in the Rays' farm system, moved to the bullpen full-time in 2025, displaying a blazing fastball and an elite-level ability to miss bats. If Montgomery can curtail his 13% career walk rate, he could be a big-time lefthander out of the Pirates’ bullpen. Giving up a pitcher with years of control such as Mike Burrows is no small thing, but it's hard not to like a trade when it addresses multiple needs at once.

Rays
Grade: B+

After holding onto some of its biggest names through the July 2025 trade deadline, the Rays have shown a willingness to part with some of its once-core players, such as Baz and now Lowe. The 31-year-old second baseman finished second on the Rays in home runs, but his power bat was accompanied by defense that saw him rate 13 outs below average, the worst mark in the majors. With top prospect and shortstop Carson Williams knocking on the door of the major leagues, Tampa Bay likely thinks it can get by with some combination of Richie Palacios and incumbent shortstop Taylor Walls at second. Tampa Bay already had a surplus of outfielders before it signed center fielder Cedric Mullins, a move that made Mangum, despite his Rays-esque skillset, more expendable to Tampa Bay's front office. Losing Montgomery, who was one of the best bat-missers in the big leagues in 2025, could hurt, but the 25-year-old has struggled to harness his walk at the minor and big league level.

Heading to Tampa Bay in this deal are two of the Astros' top-10 prospects: pitcher Anderson Brito and outfieder Jacob Melton. Brito projects as a mid-rotation starter or a reliever while Melton, a plus-power hitter with good speed and a good glove, struggled mightily in a brief 32-game stint in the majors, but has potential. In one day, the Rays significantly boosted their farm system. The question now is, was this a long-term play or a stockpiling of assets for another trade?

Astros
Grade: C+

The Astros parting ways with two top-10 prospects for a pitcher with under 100 innings of experience at the big-league level tells you everything you need to know about just how difficult it is to acquire pitchers right now. Pitcher Mike Burrows, who is still just 26 years old and isn't a free agent until 2031, is headed to Houston, while outfielder Jacob Melton and pitcher Anderson Brito are Tampa Bay-bound. Burrows had an ERA just under 4.00 in 96 innings pitched in 2025, but he was a different pitcher in the second half, and Houston's front office believes he has another gear. General manager Dana Brown told reporters they look at Burrows as “an upside play” and that the club is planning on adding a two-seam fastball to Burrows's arsenal, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. While it's tough to justify parting ways with a pair of highly-regarded prospects in Melton and Brito for an upside play, the Astros might just have the farm system depth—seven of its top-10 prospects are outfielders or pitchers—to warrant such a move.

---

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

feed