The Rays introduced that they’ve exercised their membership choice 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 an alternative locked in his $10.5MM wage for the upcoming season.
There wasn’t a lot suspense with this determination. 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 attributable to 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 preserve Lowe round for 2025 and his contract has one other membership choice for 2026. He might be retained for that season at a price of $11.5MM with a $500K buyout.
The query now could be if the Rays will maintain him or commerce him. The franchise typically trades gamers as they get costlier and nearer to free company, which applies to Lowe.
In line with RosterResource, the projected 2025 payroll is pretty just like what they paid in 2024. A couple of non-tenders of their arbitration-eligible gamers may give them some respiration area however they’re additionally going through the uncertainty of their stadium scenario. With Tropicana Area badly broken by Hurricane Milton, it’s attainable that the membership has to spend the upcoming season or seasons as nomads. That might have monetary implications by way of ticket gross sales, refunds, repairs and so forth.
Even when that scenario is essentially resolved by insurance coverage or different means, the Rays usually preserve payroll down by buying and selling gamers on this scenario for youthful, cheaper and extra controllable alternate options. As such, it wouldn’t be a shock if Lowe’s identify pops up in commerce rumors this winter.
