A Rays reunion: For Pirates' ex-Tampa Bay contingent, this weekend will be special

Brandon Lowe started to rip the Band-Aid off during Spring Training.

The Pirates second baseman faced his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, and took the extra step of requesting to make the trip to Port Charlotte, Fla. The idea of wearing new colors or seeing longtime friends isn’t entirely new for Lowe.

But this weekend, during the regular season when the results count? Different beast.

It’ll actually be that way for the Pirates’ entire ex-Rays contingent -- Lowe, Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum.

“It’s gonna be strange,” Lowe said. “The really weird part will be facing [Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen] on Saturday. Our boys were best friends. My wife and his wife were really close. Me and him were really close. I’ve never faced him. I’m gonna try to not crack a smile when I walk up to the plate. … Probably will end up doing it anyway.”

It won’t be a grudge series or anything like that for Lowe, Mangum and Montgomery. Far from it. They’ve maintained friendships on the other side, and they very much appreciate what the Rays have meant to their careers.

“A lot of places didn’t give me the chance. They did,” said Mangum, who spent time with the Mets and Marlins before making his MLB debut with Tampa Bay last season. “I’m super grateful for that.”

The Rays drafted Montgomery in the sixth round in 2021. His career as a starting pitcher began to stall a few years later, with the left-hander ultimately transitioning to relief work.

There was an instant uptick in velocity, but Montgomery has also navigated plenty of twists and turns when it comes to control and life as a reliever.

Pittsburgh may have acquired Montgomery just as he finds his footing, but the journey started with the small-market, pitching-savvy and development-minded Rays.

“I’m excited to see all the guys,” Montgomery said. “I have some good friends over there. It’ll be cool to see all of them. Then just excited to compete and have some fun.”

It’s a normal answer, as playing against your family team is hardly a foreign concept in sports.

The twist here is three players doing it at once, all for the first time, all three arriving in the December three-way deal that sent Mike Burrows to the Astros.

“It’ll be a little reunion,” Montgomery said.

And hopefully some good baseball.

The Pirates (11-8) and Rays (11-7) sit atop their respective divisions, while Tampa Bay had gone 8-2 in its last 10 while winning six in a row.

The organizations also operate in similar ways, especially when it comes to pitching acquisition and development, a non-negotiable advantage for small-market teams.

Especially when it comes to the Pirates’ homegrown starting rotation, they’ve churned out a bunch of arms.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh made an aggressive push this season to fix its offense, and the results have been hard to ignore: Only six teams have more than the Pirates’ 95 runs entering Friday, while a mere five had a higher team OPS (.735).

That’ll absolutely play. The Pirates and Rays also place a similar emphasis on speed, platoon splits and lineups capable of passing the baton, as we’ve heard plenty this week.

Meanwhile, when it comes to those who’ve seen both sides, they’ve enjoyed the process. They’ve built relationships and appreciate how both teams have impacted their careers.

“I have a lot of friends over there,” Mangum said. “It’s gonna be fun. Obviously hope we win every game we played against them, but I’m pulling for a lot of those guys. Can’t speak highly enough about everybody over there.”

Lowe was with the Rays the longest, drafted by them in the third round out of Maryland in 2015. Three years later, after some swing changes in the Minors designed to juice every ounce of power out of his 5-foot-9 frame, Lowe made his MLB debut in 2018.

Lowe has been a two-time All-Star with 39- and 31-homer seasons and was an extremely well-respected clubhouse leader, traits that are starting to become more and more evident in Pittsburgh.

Facing Shane McClanahan in Spring Training gave Lowe a taste. They had played together since 2021, so it won’t be completely foreign. Lowe’s also very happy in Pittsburgh and doesn’t plan on letting his focus drift.

“One saving grace is that if you go back to the 2020 [World Series] team, [McClanahan] and Yandy [Díaz] are really the only two left,” Lowe said. “It’ll be a little less weird in that aspect.”

“But when it comes down to it, after the umpire says ‘play ball,’ it’s business. It doesn’t matter how strange it feels; you’re playing for the guys who are in your clubhouse. It’ll be fun.”

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