Pirates extend qualifying offer to Brandon Lowe, claim OF Akil Baddoo

As expected, the Pirates extended a qualifying offer to Brandon Lowe on Monday.

The qualifying offer this year is worth $23.15 million, although it would be a surprise for Lowe to actually accept it.

Lowe has until Nov. 17 to accept the qualifying offer or decided to pursue free agency, which is the much more likely path after Lowe hit .260 with an .824 OPS this past season, with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs.

The big reason the qualifying offer matters is that the Pirates will receive draft-pick compensation if Lowe ultimately signs with another team.

From the time the qualifying-offer system was implemented in 2012, only 18 of the 157 players to receive one (prior to this year) have accepted it.

Lowe was worth 5.4 bWAR, which represents the best season for a Pirates position player since Bryan Reynolds was worth 6.0 bWAR in 2021.

Initial contract projections for Lowe vary quite a bit. The Athletic's Jim Bowden last week predicted Lowe would make $45 million over three years, which definitely falls on the low side.

On Monday, Keith Law (also of the Athletic) listed Lowe as the No. 3 free agent available behind Tarik Skubal and Teruaki Sato, predicting Lowe would get at least five years and $150 million.

While Lowe will certainly be compensated for his offensive season, it’ll be interesting to see how much defense plays a part. With the Rays in 2025, Lowe was worth -14 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs.

Among those who spent at least 600 innings at second base, only Luis Garcia Jr. in Washington fared worse at -17.

Starting a few days after the December 2025 trade that brought him to Pittsburgh, Lowe began chatting with Pirates infield coach Chris Truby about his pre-pitch work and flipped that into a Gold Glove nomination.

Though Brice Turang ultimately won, Lowe was worth 14 DRS, which was tied for 15th among all defenders. Lowe also had a Fielding Run Value (per Baseball Savant) of 12 that was surpassed by just 13 MLB players this season, regardless of position.

General manager Ben Cherington has maintained that the Pirates remain interested in bringing Lowe back, although there’s a lot that will go into those discussions.

“He’s been everything we could’ve hoped for as a player and also in the clubhouse,” Cherington said in September. “We know how his teammates feel about him. They expressed that, and that’s good. It would be a great outcome if he’s a Pirate next year.

"We just need to learn more about what opportunities that are out there for us, and he’s put himself in a strong position, too. More to learn on that front. But would be a great outcome if he’s a Pirate. Think the world of him and the job he’s done.”

Akil Baddoo claimed

Akil Baddoo checks a few different boxes for the Pirates.

First off, he had a productive 2026, hitting .252 with an .818 OPS in 66 games for Triple-A Nashville in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system this past year. The 28-year-old is also an athletic, left-handed-hitting outfielder who may still have another level to reach in Major League Baseball.

The Pirates claimed Baddoo off waivers Monday — the deadline to move players from the 60-day injured list back to 40-man rosters — and brought into the organization a player who offers, at minimum, some intriguing upside.

Though Baddoo didn’t play in the Majors this past season — he missed a large chunk of time with quad and hamstring issues — he was someone Brewers fans wanted to see get a chance, similar to Miguel Andujar here in 2023.

Baddoo primarily played right field with Nashville this past season, although he’s spent more time in center and left throughout his carer.

When he debuted with the Tigers in 2021, Baddoo hit .259 with a .766 OPS in 124 games, producing 13 homers, 55 RBIs and seven triples that tied Kevin Kiermaier for second in the American League behind Shohei Ohtani.

The first three games of Baddoo’s career were incredible, as he homered on the first pitch he saw on April 4, 2021; hit a grand slam the next day; and had a walkoff single in game number three.

As a result, Baddoo became the first player in modern history to combine two homers, including a grand slam, and a walkoff hit in his first three games.

Baddoo also has an odd distinction of playing in the big leagues before ever appearing in a Double-A or Triple-A game, meaning some important development checkpoints may have been skipped. In fact, he’s still never played a game at Double-A.

The Tigers selected Baddoo in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, taking him third overall. (The Pirates led off by selecting José Soriano.)

Baddoo was actually a second-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2016 before Detroit poached him four years later.

Baddoo hasn’t had much big league success since that strong rookie year. From 2022-25, Baddoo was worth just 0.7 wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference. That included a .201 average, .612 OPS, 15 home runs and 49 RBIs.

Although Baddoo was born in Silver Spring, Md. and attended high school (Salem) in Conyers, Ga., his father’s family is from Ghana and his mother’s family is from Trinidad and Tobago.

Baddoo’s cousin (Tyra Gittens-Spotsville) is actually an Olympic athlete from Trinidad and Tobago.

Mattson waived/claimed

Also Monday, the Mariners claimed Isaac Mattson off waivers. Mattson was outstanding for the Pirates in 2025, pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 44 games out of the bullpen. But the Pitt product and Erie native regressed this past season.

Mattson had a 5.35 ERA in 38 MLB games, ending the year on the injured list due to right hip inflammation and shuttling back and forth between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis.

In three seasons in Pittsburgh, Mattson logged a 3.83 ERA and 20 holds in 91 2/3 innings.

This story will be updated.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.