The Pittsburgh Pirates have some very interesting questions to answer this offseason after a promising 2026 season fell short of the playoffs.
After such a promising season, will the Pirates make a push to add talent this offseason, or will they continue to penny-pinch as they have for years now? There is one player this matters for more than any other: second baseman Brandon Lowe.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel projected Lowe would get a four-year, $80 million contract this offseason, and that’s despite the infielder having three big question marks looming over his free agency this offseason.
Brandon Lowe projected to get $80M contract despite three big question marks
“8. Brandon Lowe, 2B… Projected contract/QO: four years, $80 million (20 AAV), received QO,” McDaniel writes. “… will he stay healthy, keep hitting this well, and continue to defend like this as he turns 33 in July?”
Those three questions surrounding Lowe’s game will make his free agency very interesting to follow. Depending on how a team answers those questions, Lowe could see a huge swing in his contract value.
Even if some teams don’t believe his defense will remain elite, as long as he’s a great hitter and can stay healthy, he’s sure to get very strong contract offers.
But if there is a team out there that believes Lowe can stay healthy, continue to hit at an All-Star level, and field as well as he did this past season, then he could see quite the strong offer this offseason.
Of course, the Pirates’ placing the qualifying offer on Lowe does indicate they have interest in bringing him back, so the team that might believe in him could be the Pirates as opposed to some other club.
At some point, the Pirates do need to put together a contending roster and get out of their lengthy rebuild.
Re-signing Lowe would prove to the fanbase they’re ready to contend, and if they believe in Lowe’s 2026 being who he really is, then an $80M, four-year deal would make sense.
It’s a lot of money for the Pirates, or any team, but if that team believes his offense, defense, and health are trending in the right direction, then this would be a worthwhile contract to give the 35-homer second baseman.
