Rays' Erik Neander Addresses Potentially Trading Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz

Tampa Bay Rays' president Erik Neander recently spoke about whether he would trade some of his stars.

Oct 6, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays president Erik Neander during the ALDS workout day against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

With the winter meetings coming to a close for the Tampa Bay Rays, there is still plenty to do for the franchise heading into the new year. 

As expected, the winter meetings provided a ton of news and rumors around the league. A couple of the top free agents were signed, and teams continue to take shape before the start of the 2026 campaign. 

For the Rays, they were able to come to an agreement with southpaw Steven Matz to help replace Pete Fairbanks in the bullpen. Matz recently made the switch to the bullpen, and the results were good in 2025. Now, he will likely be continuing that role with Tampa Bay, and the multi-year commitment is an interesting move by the franchise. 

As the team starts to plan for next season, one of the top looming questions for them will be the status of two of their star sluggers who are prime trade candidates. 

Erik Neander recently spoke with Adam Berry of MLB at the winter meetings and talked about the team potentially holding on to star sluggers Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz. 

“We've also made decisions over the last few years to kind of continue to roll forward with these guys. We greatly appreciate them, and [would be] more than happy to ride into next year and see what this team can do.”

Lowe Generating Buzz Despite Comments

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Even though Neander’s comments indicate that he’s happy to keep both Lowe and Diaz, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding Lowe, especially coming out of the winter meetings. Interest in Lowe certainly makes sense after the team picked up his $11.5 million team option to retain him. 

In 2025, he was mostly healthy and proved to be one of the best offensive second basemen in the league. While he isn’t the only second baseman that could be dealt this winter, with Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks generating some interest as well, Lowe is a very appealing option.  

While Tampa Bay should certainly listen to offers for the All-Star slugger, trading him would create a significant void at second base and in the lineup. It would be very challenging to find someone who could replace him offensively, and in the difficult American League East, the Rays need all they can get. 

Unless an offer really knocks them out of the park, the best course of action would be to wait until the summer and see where they are in the standings.