Pirates Would be Offseason Loser if They Miss On Brandon Lowe at This Price

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be in a position to bring back Brandon Lowe, though it will remain uncertain how willing the organization is to pay him top dollar. 

As of now, it seems to me that Lowe is going to find himself in a very good position to get a three- to four-year deal worth about $20 million annually, though it's also important to recognize that the expected lockout in Major League Baseball is going to be a factor in all of this. 

There's a good chance a guy like Lowe won't get the kind of money anyone expects because of the changes baseball may make. It's also possible Lowe wants to get this over with as soon as possible and try to sign a deal before Major League Baseball goes into a lockout. 

Those are all things that are going to have to be answered relatively soon, so we should have a better feel for everything in the near future. As for how much Lowe is predicted to get by some, that's where I have my questions. Not to say it's guaranteed that Lowe will make $20-plus million a year, but he's way too good to sign for only $15 million per year. 

However, The Athletic recently predicted he would do just that, and I have to question it.

“There is no doubt that when Lowe is healthy, he is one of the best power-hitting second basemen in the game. This year, he was healthy and played in a career-high 150 games, belting 29 doubles and 35 homers with a 121 OPS+. Not only did he perform offensively, but he was among the best defensive second basemen, ranking in the 96th percentile in defensive run value.

“The Pirates would love him to return and he certainly enjoyed his time there, but it’s more likely he’ll sign elsewhere given the contracts he’ll likely be offered after the season he just completed,” Jim Bowden wrote.

Here's the problem with Lowe only getting $45 million: if a team like the New York Yankees is interested in landing a player of his caliber because of their need at second base, why wouldn't they just go to $60 million over those three years and pay an extra $5 million per year? 

I know that $5 million per year isn't necessarily cheap, even for high-spending teams, but that contract feels way too cheap for a player who's coming off a season in which he hit 35 home runs. 

The only thing holding him back is going to be his age, but even then, he's too good to sign for only $15 million a year.