An obvious decision has been as the Tampa Bay Rays have picked up Brandon Lowe’s $11.5M option for the 2026 season.
Lowe, 31, has proven that when healthy, he is among the top offensive second basemen in all of baseball and he supported that assertion in 2025 as he hit .256/.307/.477 with 31 HR over 553 PA, registering a 114 wRC+. Lowe’s 31 HR were tied with Jazz Chisholm Jr for the most among primary second baseman. Meanwhile, since the start of the 2019 season, Brandon Lowe has the 3rd highest wRC+ (124) and 3rd most HR (124) among second basemen. In franchise history, Lowe is 3rd on the all-time list in homeruns and figures to surpass Carlos Pena for 2nd in 2026.
The Rays will need Lowe to continue his above average offensive ways his defense took a significant dip in 2025 leading to just 1.4 fWAR despite a 114 wRC+. According to FanGraphs, Lowe was among the worst defensive second basemen in the game last year with -14 Defensive Runs Saved and a MLB worst -13 Outs Above Average.
The Rays signed Lowe to a contract extension in 2019 that guaranteed the slugging infielder $24M over six years and gave the Rays two team options for $10.5M in 2025 and $11.5M in 2026. Thus, this will be Brandon Lowe’s final year under contract with the Rays unless the two sides can work out another extension before the end of next season.
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