Brandon Lowe fit the profile that the Pittsburgh Pirates were seeking to add to their lineup, and the two-time All-Star second baseman became a target Ben Cherington identified early as a potential trade possibility.
The Pirates general manager was dealing directly with the Tampa Bay Rays about Lowe but also discussing deals with the Houston Astros, so a three-team trade evolved that landed Lowe, left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum on Friday.
“Brandon brings that left-hand bat, home run potential, fit for the ballpark, history of production and importantly, we believe, still the ability to play second base,” Cherington said Saturday morning on a video conference call. “That will be the focus going into spring training. He’s working really hard this offseason to make sure he’s ready to do that. The fact that he can play second, we believe, also keeps options open for us to add another bat in another spot. It gives us a left-hand complement to what had been a pretty right handed-hitting infield group.
“All of those were reasons, certainly everything we know about Brandon as a teammate, as a competitor, his character. We also believe he will be a strong fit in our clubhouse. Excited to add him to the team, to the lineup.”
The Pirates lack power production, finishing last in the majors in home runs (117), RBIs and OPS last season. Only five players hit double-digit homers, led by Oneil Cruz with 20 and no one else above 16. Lowe has a pair of 30-homer seasons on his resume, including 31 last season, and has hit 21 or more in each season he’s played at least 100 games.
Lowe projects as a No. 2 hitter, given his career .259/.330/.481 slash line with 34 doubles, 56 home runs and 148 RBIs over 246 games in that spot in the lineup. He’s hit 25 points higher for average and 66 points higher for OPS there than at the No. 3 hole in his eight-year career.
That they were all spent with the Rays could make this an interesting transition for the 31-year-old Lowe, who has played two games at PNC Park, going 1 for 6 (.167) with one RBI and one strikeout. But the lefty hitter has pulled 78 of his 157 career homers, which makes clearing the 21-foot Clemente Wall in right field and the Allegheny River an inviting target.
The Pirates will pay Lowe $11.5 million in the final year of his six-year, $24 million contract, but Cherington said his initial discussions with Lowe were centered on helping his transition to a new organization instead of a contract extension.
“He’s obviously a profile player that we’d been seeking: left-hand power production at PNC, ability to play on the infield,” Cherington said. “That’s a player we needed more of, not less of. And he’s been a really consistent one, so he’s certainly the type of player that you’d want to have on the longer term.”
Both Montgomery and Mangum have controllable contracts and potential the Pirates hope to tap into this season.
Montgomery, 25, has touched triple digits with his four-seam fastball — which averages 98.7 mph — that is complemented by a plus slider. Montgomery has a high strikeout rate (32.5%) but a 5.01 ERA, as right-handed hitters have batted .302 with an .866 OPS against him and his 12.9% walk rate is alarming. While Cherington said Montgomery “hasn’t quite leveled up to his talent,” he raved about his “really dynamic stuff from the left side.”
“We think the underlying stuff was better than the surface ERA,” Cherington said. “Someone we think we can really grow with. We believe a particularly good fit at PNC (Park) just given who left-handers have fared there at PNC.”
The 29-year-old Mangum’s numbers are more extreme. He hit for a .296 average but had 18 doubles and only three home runs. He swings at almost everything, so he has a low strikeout rate (15%) but the highest chase rate (43.7%) and one of the lowest walk rates (4.4%) in the game.
Mangum relies more on his sprint speed on the basepaths (29.1 feet per second) and in the outfield, where he was worth 6 Outs Above Average, per Statcast. That makes him a more likely candidate as a fourth outfielder or a platoon player.
“Mangum just gives us a different look in the outfield. It’s a speed, defense, contact, kind of pest-oriented — for lack of a better word — profile in the outfield,” Cherington said. “We think he can play center and left at PNC. We think he can complement well a group of outfielders. I think he can play in a number of different roles and again gives us some flexibility in terms of filling out the rest of that outfield group.”
Cherington made it clear that he’s not finished with his offseason makeover, identifying another proven power hitter, a possible starting pitcher and more bullpen help as areas he wants to address.
“We’d like to add another let’s say proven bat somewhere on the roster, whether that’s outfield, whether that’s corner infield or whether that’s DH,” Cherington said. “Not sure. I think we just got to keep working it and pursuing all the angles.”