Rays have notified second baseman Brandon Lowe According to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, they will exercise his $11.5MM club option for the 2026 season. This is the final season of the contract extension Lowe signed in March 2019. He will ultimately earn $450,000 over the eight years of the contract. Lowe is expected to become a free agent next offseason.
There was never any doubt as to whether that option would be exercised. Lowe, 31, has been an above-average hitter throughout his major league career, dating back to his MLB debut in 2018. That includes 2025, when Lowe hit 31 home runs in just 134 games. The left-handed hitter has an overall batting line of .256/.307/.477. While his 6.9 percent walk rate was the lowest of his career, Lowe’s 91.1 mph average exit velocity and 46.4 percent slugging rate were the best he’d produced in eight seasons in the majors.
The only real uncertainty surrounding Lowe’s selection is whether the Rays or another club will select it. With only one year of control remaining on his deal and the Rays’ tendency to trade veterans toward the end of the control window, Lowe is an obvious trade candidate. Tampa Bay could have flipped him to another club before the option expired — and they could still have done the same thing with a closer Pete Fairbanks It’s worth noting that his $11MM option/$1MM buyout is still pending, but at least for now, Lowe will be the projected second baseman next year.
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In his eight major league seasons, Lowe was a .247/.326/.481 hitter with 157 homers, 126 doubles, 12 triples, 33 steals, a 9.4% walk rate and a 27.3% strikeout rate. He generally rates as a defensively solid second baseman, although he was plagued by defensive runs saved (-14) and Statcast outs above average (-13) during the 2025 season.
Lowe was placed on the injured list with oblique and ankle/foot injuries. It’s possible that one or both will impact his performance on defense. His defensive production has fluctuated wildly from year to year, which is perhaps not surprising for a player previously sidelined by a back injury, a tibial bone contusion and a fractured right patella (kneecap) near the end of the 2023 season.
Even if Lowe never returns to being an above-average defender after suffering a knee injury in September 2023, his bat will keep him on the major league roster. It is also possible to eventually move to another position. He’s logged over 300 innings in the corner outfield during his career, though he’s no longer the above-average runner he was earlier, ranking in the 36th percentile among position players in rushing velocity in 2025. Lowe also logged well in 155 innings at first base, and his 30-homer ability would serve him well at the position if a full-time move was needed at any time.
