The Rays introduced that they’ve exercised their membership possibility on infielder Brandon Lowe. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Occasions relayed the information on X previous to the official announcement. The membership may have given Lowe a $1MM buyout and despatched him to free company however have as a substitute locked in his $10.5MM wage for the upcoming season.
There wasn’t a lot suspense with this resolution. Lowe has hit .245/.330/.482 in his profession for a 126 wRC+. That features a .244/.311/.473 line in 2024 for a 123 wRC+.
He has largely performed second base in his profession however has additionally spent a while at first base and within the outfield corners. He’s not thought of particularly robust at any of these spots however the versatility continues to be helpful. He has missed loads of time because of accidents in his profession, solely as soon as entering into 110 video games in a season, however his manufacturing has been robust each time he’s been on the market.
Again in March of 2019, when Lowe had simply 43 MLB video games on his ledger, he and the Rays agreed to a six-year, $24MM contract extension. The Rays are undoubtedly pleased with their return on that funding, given Lowe’s efficiency.
They’ve triggered the membership choice to maintain Lowe round for 2025 and his contract has one other membership possibility for 2026. He might be retained for that season at a price of $11.5MM with a $500K buyout.
The query now’s if the Rays will maintain him or commerce him. The franchise usually trades gamers as they get dearer and nearer to free company, which applies to Lowe.
In response to RosterResource, the projected 2025 payroll is pretty much like what they paid in 2024. A number of non-tenders of their arbitration-eligible gamers may give them some respiration area however they’re additionally dealing with the uncertainty of their stadium scenario. With Tropicana Area badly broken by Hurricane Milton, it’s doable that the membership has to spend the upcoming season or seasons as nomads. That would have monetary implications when it comes to ticket gross sales, refunds, repairs and so forth.
Even when that scenario is basically resolved by insurance coverage or different means, the Rays usually maintain payroll down by buying and selling gamers on this scenario for youthful, cheaper and extra controllable options. As such, it wouldn’t be a shock if Lowe’s identify pops up in commerce rumors this winter.