Brandon Lowe Gives First Thoughts on Pirates' Don Kelly
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made an important addition in second baseman Brandon Lowe, who serve as a centerpiece of their lineup in 2026.
Lowe came from the Tampa Bay Rays, along with outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery. It was a three-team trade, as the Pirates sent right-handed starting pitcher Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros, who in turn sent two top prospects to the Rays.
The 31-year old will play for just his second MLB team, after spending his first eight seasons with Tampa Bay.
Lowe will also have a new manager in Don Kelly, who he'll look to thrive under next season in Pittsburgh.
Brandon Lowe Speaks on Don Kelly
Kelly serves as the second manager for Lowe in his MB career, as he played under Rays manager Kevin Cash the entire team he was there.
Lowe and Cash had great success together, with five straight postseasons from 2018-23, back-to-back American League East Division Titles in 2020 and 2021, with Cash winning MLB Manager of the Year honors both seasons, and a World Series appearance in 2020.
There weren't many players better than Lowe in Tampa Bay history, as he ranks second in slugging percentage, third in home runs, fourth in OPS, seventh in RBI and on-base percentage and eighth in hits, walks and batting average.
Now will feature under Kelly, who takes over for his first full season after earning an extension following a 59-65 record when he took over as manager on May 8.
Kelly also had great record at PNC Park, 37-25, with the .597 winning percentage the ninth best in baseball during that time.
Lowe said that he asked Pirates right fielder Bryan Reynolds about Kelly and that Reynolds praised his manager.
He then spoke to Kelly himself and noted how proud he was of his team and what the Pirates can achieve next season.
Lowe spoke on his great relationship with Cash and that he hopes to have that with Kelly.
"Yeah, he seems great," Lowe said. "That was probably the first question that I asked, honestly, [when I talked] to Bryan. When I first got traded over, I think I probably sent him four or five different questions. 'What do you got on all of this?' And he had great things to say about him.
"And I had a phone call probably about three, four days ago, and I got great vibes off of him. It seems like he's really excited about the team that's coming in this year, and he really knows his stuff. You can talk as much as you want to on a phone, and be face-to-face this way, but it's not the same as being in-person.
"So the biggest thing is just going to be in spring training, talking to him, talking to everybody else, and getting comfortable with everybody around.
"Cashy set a great example of what a manager-player relationship probably looks like. And I don't know, everybody has their own different styles, and I'm excited to see what Donnie's
is."
What the Pirates Get in Lowe
Lowe is an eight-year MLB veteran who has had great success from the plate and has served as the Rays second baseman since 2020.
He has slashed .247/.326/.481 for an OPS of .807 in 745 games since 2018, with 657 hits, 126 doubles, 12 triples, 157 home runs, 446 RBI and 282 walks to 817 strikeouts.
Lowe is coming off one of the best years of his career in 2025, as he slashed .256/.307/.477 for an OPS of .784 in 134 games, with 130 hits, 19 doubles, 31 home runs, 83 RBIs and 38 walks to 149 strikeouts.
He earned an All-Star nod for his performance, just the second of his career. He earned his first as a rookie in 2019, slashing .270/.336/.514 for an OPS of .850 in 82 games, including 17 home runs.
Lowe brings the Pirates what they desperately need, which is power. The Pirates finished last in home runs (117), as well as slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655) in baseball last season.
He has hit more than 20 home runs in the four seasons he's played more than 100 games in and hit 31 home runs last season, 11 more than Oneil Cruz, who led the Pirates with 20 home runs.
Season | Games | Home Runs |
|---|---|---|
2018 | 43 | 6 |
2019 | 82 | 17 |
2020 | 56 | 14 |
2021 | 149 | 39 |
2022 | 65 | 8 |
2023 | 109 | 21 |
2024 | 107 | 21 |
2025 | 134 | 31 |
Lowe is also a left-handed batter, which is something the Pirates have looked for this offseason and which would give him an edge at PNC Park, with a right field wall that is closer than the left field wall.
The concerns for trading for Lowe is his injury history, as his 134 games last season were the most he's played outside of 2021, where he featured in 149 games.
He had back issues in 2022 that limited him to 65 games and that kept him out for a month in 2023. He also fractured his right knee cap after fouling a ball off it later that September and missed another month of play in 2024 with a right oblique strain.
Lowe also ranked as one of the worst defensive second baseman in baseball last season, with his -10 runs prevented and -13 outs above average, second worst at his position andonly ahead of Kansas City Royals' Jonathan India.
He also makes $11.5 million for a club option in 2026, marking the end of his contract he signed back in 2019.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.