On Friday, the Pirates made what was probably the most aggressive, win-now trade of the Ben Cherington era, sending Mike Burrows to Houston in exchange for Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery from the Rays.
The trade scratched a couple itches. There was a desire to add a big left-handed bat to the lineup. Lowe is coming off an All-Star campaign in which he hit 31 home runs. The Pirates were looking for more depth in the outfield. Mangum is toolsy and provides some stability in the outfield. As for Montgomery, the appeal of adding a lefty who can throw 100 mph is self-explanatory.
It was a step in the right direction towards improving an offense that needed an upgrade, but more work needs to be done.
“Our desire would be to add one more position player who's got a little bit more of a proven track record at the Major League level,” Cherington said over Zoom on Saturday. “I think we've got some flexibility as to where that player might fit in.”
The most glaring holes in the lineup coming into the winter were in left field and at third base. The Pirates have some defensive flexibility with their infielders, so adding a second baseman does quell the infield problem a bit. In the outfield, Mangum is a strong defender who could handle PNC Park’s left-field notch, while Jhostynxon Garcia, the No. 85 overall prospect in baseball (Pirates’ No. 6 prospect) according to MLB Pipeline, will have an opportunity this Spring Training to show he’s ready for the Major Leagues.
The key when it comes to what positions the Pirates can target lies with Lowe. If he can play his position, the Pirates could add a third baseman, designated hitter or even any other position to provide depth. Injuries have limited Lowe’s ability to stay on the field in the past, but he is preparing this offseason to play second.
“The fact that he can play second, we believe, also keeps options open for us to add another bat in another spot,” Cherington said. “It gives us a left-hand complement to what had been a pretty right-hand-hitting infield group. All of those were reasons [we acquired him], certainly everything we know about Brandon as a teammate, as a competitor, his character. We also believe he will be a strong fit in our clubhouse. Excited to add him to the team, to the lineup.”
HOW’S THE ROTATION
The Pirates came into the offseason knowing they had a surplus of starting pitchers that could be used as trade bait. So far, Burrows and Johan Oviedo have been dealt, the latter for Garcia.
Right now, Cherington says they have a lot of confidence in a group that still has some depth, which includes Carmen Mlodzinski preparing for a starter’s workload again. Cherington says they’re open to adding a backend starter, but as far as trading another starting pitcher, a deal would have to clear a high bar.
“You don't ever wanna say never,” Cherington said. “Don't want to cut ourselves off to something that just really makes sense for the Pirates short term and long term. But it would have to clear a bar for sure. At this point it seems unlikely we would do that unless we saw a player coming back that was an immediate fit for the lineup and also with some confidence that we can add a starter back in a different way whether that was through trade or free agency. I think that's possible.”
WHAT ABOUT GONZALES?
The addition of Lowe does raise questions about Nick Gonzales’ future with the team. 2025 was a tumultuous year for him, starting with a fractured left ankle on Opening Day that hindered his ability to really find his footing after an encouraging 2024 campaign. While the Pirates had many problems on offense last year, having a former first-round pick regress at the dish was on the laundry list of issues.
Adding Lowe doesn’t mean the Pirates are giving up on Gonzales -- Cherington referred to him as “an important player for us” -- but it’s probably going to be in a different role. We’ve seen him play on the left side of the infield before, and with third base currently open and shortstop up in the air until Pittsburgh's No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin arrives, perhaps that could be explored again.
“The biggest thing about Nick, we can go back to his amateur days in the Draft, he's just always met the challenge in front of him,” Cherington said. “So we acquired a player who we believe in, who we expect to play some second base, in Brandon Lowe. This is an opportunity for Nick to continue to push for an opportunity on the Major League team.
“We believe that's kind of what he's always done, and can see him doing that in any number of ways.”