The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays have a pretty good track record of trading with one another. Willy Adames and Trevor Richards in exchange for J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen was a big transaction that occurred back in 2021, but in the past the Rays have also sent big league players like Javy Guerra, Mike Brosseau, and Aaron Civale to the Brewers. This off-season, could the two sides come together for another trade?
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe could be traded this off-season
Recently, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that they are picking up Brandon Lowe’s 2025 club option. The 30 year old second baseman signed a team friendly six year, $24 million deal way back when, but his salary for next year is set to climb up to $10.5 million. Tampa Bay operates similar to Milwaukee in that they keep payroll low and are not afraid to make trades in order to do so. Now that Brandon Lowe is their highest paid position player, this has raised speculation as to if he will be traded or not this off-season.
Where would Brandon Lowe fit in on the Milwaukee Brewers?
Defensively, Brandon Lowe is best at second base. If the Brewers were going to pursue him that would mean Brice Turang would slide over to shortstop. Brandon Lowe’s biggest appeal comes offensively as he is pretty much a lock to hit 20 home runs. At his best, in 2021, he mashed 39 long balls and collected 99 RBI. Acquiring a player like Lowe wouldn’t replace the production lost with Willy Adames entering free agency, but he is a power threat that could benefit from having contact/on-base oriented players surrounding him in the lineup.
What are the reasons the Brewers should not trade for Brandon Lowe?
There are a few things that cause me to hesitate to say, “go out and trade for Brandon Lowe”. The first is that defensively he doesn’t fit the Brewers mold. Throughout his career he has been a below average defensive second baseman. He has a career -8 defensive runs saved (DRS) and his arm strength is well below average.
Secondly, there are health concerns. Low back issues limited him to just 65 games in 2022 and 109 in 2023. An oblique injury also cost him time a season ago in which he played in 107 games.
In summary, Brandon Lowe will likely be a trade target for several teams this off-season. He would benefit the Brewers offensively, but there are health risks and defensive concerns that ultimately may prevent a deal from happening.
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