National League West Contender Named Potential Fit for Rays' Brandon Lowe

Which team from the NL West makes sense for Rays' Brandon Lowe in a trade?

Sep 16, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe (8) hits a RBI single ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

With the winter meetings starting for the Tampa Bay Rays, there has been no shortage of rumors flying around Orlando, Florida. 

The Rays came into the offseason with new ownership taking over and a reason to be excited about the future. This is a franchise that has notoriously had a low payroll, and the hope will be that increased spending will start to come along with a new stadium. 

With that plan still being a few years away, Tampa Bay has been operating this offseason like business as usual. While they won’t be landing any of the top free agents, they will be actively trying to find some diamonds in the rough to help the roster. 

However, while the Rays have already added a couple of veteran outfielders to help improve their lineup, they do have a looming question regarding one of their top players from last year. After picking up the team option on All-Star Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay is now going to have a hard decision to make regarding what his future with the team will be. 

Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan recently wrote about the San Diego Padres being a potential fit for the Rays’ slugger this winter. 

Padres Make Sense for Lowe

Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Due to the talented slugger entering the final year of his contract after getting his option picked up, he is a prime candidate for Tampa Bay to consider trading. Even though they just recently let Pete Fairbanks go into free agency without getting anything in return for him, that isn’t generally the practice of the Rays. 

For the Padres, Lowe would make a lot of sense for them with their need to improve offensively. Furthermore, he can also play either first or second base, which are the positions that the team would figure to want to improve. 

Since San Diego doesn’t have unlimited spending power, the affordable one-year deal that Lowe is now on would be very appealing to them. Even though the Padres are losing some players to free agency, this is still a team that will be in the hunt as a contender in 2026. 

For the Rays, the timing of when and if they trade their star slugger will speak volumes. If he is dealt this winter, the team is clearly not going to realistically be a contender in 2026. With that being said, if they do genuinely want to try and make a run at the American League East, waiting until at least the summer to deal him would be wise.