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Pirates Set to Acquire Rays All-Star Brandon Lowe in Three-Team Trade
The Pirates are set to land a much-needed upgrade in its lineup, as Pittsburgh is on the verge of acquiring All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe in a three-team trade involving the Rays and Astros, according to multiple reports. Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic were first to report that the trade was in the works.
In addition to Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and pitcher Mason Montgomery are headed to Pittsburgh. The Astros are acquiring pitcher Mike Burrows and in exchange, are sending outfielder Jacob Melton (No. 2 prospect) and pitcher Anderson Brito (No. 7 prospect) to the Rays.
Lowe, 31, is coming off of an All-Star campaign for the Rays, in which he posted a .256/.307/.477 slash line with 31 home runs, 83 RBI and 79 runs scored in 134 games. Lowe has a history of injuries but adds some much-needed pop to a Pirates lineup that ranked dead-last in MLB in runs scored, OPS and home runs in 2025.
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After five seasons in the minors, Mangum hit .296 and swiped 27 bases in his first big-league season for the Rays in 2025. Montgomery, a left-hander with a fastball capable of touching triple-digits, was once Tampa Bay's No. 6 prospect, but was moved to the bullpen after issues with control.
Burrows only has one year of big-league experience but isn't a free agent until 2031, and at just 26 years old, has shown some promise (24.1% strikeout rate, 3.94 ERA in 2025). He adds some stability and youth to a rotation that lost the durable and reliable Framber Valdez to free agency.
Melton and Brito, two of Houston's most highly-coveted prospects, add to a Rays farm system that already ranked 10th at midseason and had also been bolstered by the trade of starting pitcher Shane Baz to the division-rival Orioles, a deal that netted Tampa Bay four prospects.
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Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.