The Pittsburgh Pirates did more than upgrade their lineup in the Brandon Lowe trade.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made the decision early on over the offseason to be aggressive on both the trade and free agent markets. Sometimes that aggressiveness can lead a team to make impulsive moves that backfire later.
When looking at one trade the Pirates made over the offseason, the team is already emerging as an early winner.
On December 19, the Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, and Houston Astros agreed to a three-team deal. The headliner of the trade was that Pittsburgh acquired All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe.
The Pirates are now halfway through the 2026 season, and this trade is already looking like a massive win for the Pirates for several reasons.
Starting with Lowe, he has lived up to the hype and provided the offensive boost the Pirates envisioned when they traded for him.
Lowe currently has a .243/.318/.508 slash line with 20 home runs. At 31 years old, his underlying power metrics remain strong, with an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph (77th percentile), a barrel rate of 12.7 percent (81st percentile), and a hard-hit rate of 46.2 percent (75th percentile).
Not only is Lowe among team leaders with a .826 OPS, but if that holds for the rest of the season, it’ll mark his highest OPS since 2021.
Jun 24, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) celebrates with center fielder Jake Mangum (28) after scoring a run against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesIt’s not just that the Pirates got the bat they’d been looking for in this trade, though. Pittsburgh also acquired outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery.
Mangum has been as advertised in his sophomore season, posting a .297 batting average and solid outfield defense. Montgomery has certainly given up some runs and is still a raw talent, but his 98.1 mph fastball velocity and strikeout rate of 31.7 percent make him a project player that’s worth the risk.
The Pirates added all of this, and the only player they had to give up was Mike Burrows, who owns a 5.48 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season.
The thing is, even with this trade looking like a successful transaction for the Pirates, they’re still on the outside looking in of a playoff spot. At the halfway point, Pittsburgh is 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card position and 9.5 games back in the division.
Will Pittsburgh’s success in the Lowe trade make them feel confident to make another big swing in a deal before the trade deadline?
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