The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a major move to help improve their anemic offense. According to The Athletic, Pittsburgh has acquired infielder Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum, and pitcher Mason Montgomery from the Tampa Bay Rays. In turn, the Pirates are sending right-hander Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros in the three-team trade.
Burrows was previously rated as the team’s ninth-best prospect in 2023. Despite falling to 11th in the rankings the following year, the pitcher made the Pirates rotation in 2025. Burrows recorded a 3.94 ERA while racking up 97 strikeouts in 96 total innings during the most recent season. Although his 1.5 WAR was not exactly spectacular, it was the second-highest among Pittsburgh’s starters on the year behind Paul Skenes.
Losing Burrows may sting a bit, but the Pirates are acquiring a two-time All-Star in Lowe. The versatile star also finished inside the top 10 of the American League MVP voting in 202o and 2021. These were actually two seasons in which Lowe was not named as an All-Star.
The infielder was previously one of the top trade targets of the offseason. In fact, the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees have all been linked with Lowe this winter. The three teams, however, were far from the only ones to be interested in the star.
Brandon Lowe Gives Pittsburgh Pirates a big Upgrade at Second Base
GettyBrandon Lowe is one of baseball’s best second basemen.
Lowe will now slot into second base for Pirates manager Don Kelly. The All-Star should provide a significant upgrade at the position for Pittsburgh. Lowe hit 31 home runs last season to go along with 83 RBIs and 79 runs. These statistics are especially impressive considering the slugger played only 134 games in 2025.
In contrast, Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales was the only typical starter on the team to record a negative WAR on the campaign. Lowe will also provide the Pirates with some much-needed power. Pittsburgh scored the fewest runs of any MLB team throughout the 2025 season.
Along with second base, Lowe can also fill in at first base and the corner outfield spots. Nevertheless, his best position is undeniably at second. Lowe led all MLB players at the position in Baseball Reference’s range factor per nine innings and double plays turned in 2025.
The only seemingly negative aspect of acquiring Lowe is the fact that he will soon become a free agent. The star previously signed a six-year, $24 million contract with the Rays, but the deal is set to expire after the 2026 season. According to Spotrac.com, Lowe is scheduled to earn $11.5 million for the upcoming campaign.
Secondary Trade Acquisitions Could Also Help Boost Pirates
Along with Lowe, Mangum and Montgomery are also interesting acquisitions for the Pirates. Mangum was previously a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2019. Although the outfielder only recorded a .368 slugging percentage in 2025 with the Rays, he did post a .296 batting average thanks to collecting 120 hits in 118 games.
Montgomery, on the other hand, was the ninth-ranked Rays prospect in 2024. The lefty reliever picked up 63 big league strikeouts in 46 innings last season. No full-time Pirates relief pitcher managed to record more strikeouts on the campaign than Montgomery.
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