Brandon Lowe, Pirates Power, and the Shift Toward Winning
The Brandon Lowe trade might be looked upon as the moment the Pirates started becoming a winning team.
Neil Walker hit 23 home runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014.
That’s a franchise record for most home runs by a second baseman.
At the rate he’s going, Brandon Lowe might beat that record by the All-Star Break.
Last night, Lowe hit his 15th homer of the season in the eighth inning of a 10-6 victory over the Houston Astros.
The shot gave the Pirates some needed insurance, resulting in what ultimately would be the go-ahead runs.
Lowe has been having one of the best seasons of his career this season. He’s not only hitting for power, but he’s getting on base at a rate similar to his best season in 2021. That year he hit 39 homers in 615 plate appearances, with a .340 OBP. This year he’s on pace for nearly 39 home runs in a 600+ plate appearance season, with a .343 OBP.
What stood out the most about Lowe’s big night was that it came on the same night that the Pirates went up against Mike Burrows.
The Pirates acquired Lowe by trading Burrows in a three-team deal with the Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays. They didn’t just add Lowe in that deal.
Jake Mangum was another piece in that trade. He picked up four singles in last night’s game, including two off Burrows, and one that came before Lowe’s home run.
Mason Montgomery is the other return from the trade. He’s been one of the better relievers in a questionable Pirates bullpen this season, with a 3.91 ERA and a 30.9% strikeout rate.
The results from Lowe and Mangum last night just underscored how good of a trade this was, merely two months into the 2026 season.
Ben Cherington doesn’t have a great trade history with the Pirates.
Most of his trades have been on the opposite end, involving trading veterans for prospects in a long rebuild attempt.
The trade for Lowe was a shift in approach for the Pirates. It was one of few trades where Cherington was dealing to immediately improve the MLB club. Not with potential that could play out in the future, but with players who had already proven themselves in the Majors.
Lowe is a rental. He’s a free agent after the 2026 season. That could be to the Pirates’ benefit. The 31-year-old’s early career-year pacing might be fueled by the drive to get his last big free agent contract this offseason.
Mangum and Montgomery aren’t rentals. The Pirates have both under team control through the 2030 season. Mangum looks like a scrappy fourth outfielder who can help via small ball value. Montgomery was the sleeper of the deal in my view, capable of improving to become a reliable lights-out reliever. He’s only in his age 25 season, and has shown improvements with his control so far, which is a key to his breakout.
There’s value in the trade beyond the numbers. The Lowe pickup was a signal that it wasn’t the same old endless rebuild and passive offseason approach for the Pirates. Who knows if they’re able to sign Ryan O’Hearn without that move? The Lowe trade definitely set the tone.
On the other side of the deal, Burrows has struggled. After last night, he has a 5.66 ERA in 12 starts with Houston. That’s a departure from his 3.94 ERA in 96 innings with the Pirates in his rookie season last year.
Outside of last night’s game, I don’t think the struggles from Burrows should be celebrated. It’s very common for young pitchers to hit bumps along the road early in their MLB careers before figuring it all out. Burrows might get to that point after what has been a rough season so far.
Those struggles have underscored why the change in approach by the Pirates has been somewhat refreshing.
For so long, the Pirates were the team banking on potential, and riding out the struggles of young pitchers. Last night’s starter, Bubba Chandler, is one of those pitchers who is going to be prone to early-career struggles before he figures it all out.
The problem the Pirates faced was they were banking on potential too much, and never investing in more of a sure thing. It can be difficult watching a team going through growing pains, and holding onto hope that they might be better in the future. By comparison, it’s easier to ride through the struggles of a guy like Chandler when knowing that the team’s hopes aren’t riding on him instantly figuring it all out.
In dealing Burrows, the Pirates let another team ride it out through the early-career struggles, in hopes for greater potential in the future. Meanwhile, they stabilized their roster with a legitimate power threat in Lowe, and two long-term serviceable bullpen/bench options in Montgomery and Mangum.
It’s not like the Pirates are missing Burrows. The controversy surrounding the team this week has been about a lack of rotation space. They dealt from a strength, dealing a young pitcher with fewer than 100 MLB innings at a high value, and they added to a weakness by injecting power into the lineup.
Forget second base. The Pirates haven’t had a 30 home run season during Cherington’s going-on seven year tenure as General Manager. Most of the power hopes were placed on the shoulders of Oneil Cruz, again with the Pirates exclusively banking on the potential of a young player figuring out the Majors.
Not only do they have Lowe as a legitimate power threat, but Cruz added his 14th home run last night. He is on pace to exceed 30 home runs for the first time in his career this season. Perhaps the protection provided from Lowe and O’Hearn has allowed Cruz to be more comfortable, knowing that he’s not relied upon to be the sole source of offensive impact on the team.
The Pirates are seeing power production unlike any other season I can remember. The spark was the addition of Lowe.
With the win last night, the Pirates moved into second place in the competitive NL Central.
They’re 5.5 games out of first place, but they are sitting in the second NL Wild Card spot at the moment, just a mere percentage point behind San Diego for the top spot.
A four game winning streak. A 7-3 record over the last ten games. Plus-35 for the run differential on the season. Winning records both home and away.
The standings show that this team has a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
If that happens, it all started to shift with the Lowe trade.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams