Brandon Lowe has until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 17 to decide on the $23.15 million qualifying offer the Pirates extended to him. But with the General Managers Meetings underway in Las Vegas this week, Lowe’s name is back in the spotlight as he’s a key player on the market, both for Pittsburgh and all 29 other clubs.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters Tuesday that conversations are “good” with Lowe and his agency, and have been ongoing since the end of the season.
“I think Brandon and Madison had a great experience in Pittsburgh, and it would be a great outcome if he was a Pirate next year,” Cherington said. “And that's what we've communicated. We've agreed to take it a step at a time. I’m sure there will be another conversation at some point soon. It's been a few days, probably, since I've had one, but the conversations have been both with Brandon directly at the end of the season and with his agents.”
The Pirates didn’t engage in extension conversations with Lowe during the 2026 season, other than letting him know their appreciation for him and how great a fit they felt he was. Cherington said he felt like “the timing wasn’t right” as the team was amid a playoff push and Lowe was a focal point of it.
As the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline drew closer, Cherington added that Pittsburgh didn’t consider offers for Lowe as the team was hoping to win as many games as possible down the stretch to snap a postseason drought. Pittsburgh fell short, but Lowe turned in a historic year.
“Brandon has some proof of concept. He knows what it's like and had some comfort, and so you don't have to spend as much time on that part of it,” Cherington said. “He's also put himself in a really strong position, and good for him. And everybody's going to find out. He'll find out before any of us do exactly what that means. But good for him for doing that.”
Lowe became just the third Pirates player to receive a qualifying offer since its inception in 2012, joining Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin, both in 2014. With the Pirates, Lowe fortified his defense at second base, flipping a -10 fielding run value in 2025 with the Rays to a +12 in Pittsburgh. He became a Gold Glove finalist for the first time in his career.
At the plate, Lowe showed off with 96 RBIs and an .824 OPS, while also leading all second basemen with 35 homers. He has never won a Silver Slugger, but is a finalist for the award.
“We've loved it, and we're not shutting any doors in any way,” Lowe told MLB.com during the final homestand. “We've enjoyed our time here. If this is it, then we've had a great time. If it's not, then we're looking forward to more time here.”
When Lowe was with Tampa Bay, the organization that drafted and extended him, he wanted to prove the team right for investing in him. He felt the same way when the Pirates acquired him ahead of the 2026 season. Though he took on the mantle of being a veteran leader, he has certainly done his part.
A key to Lowe’s success this year was staying healthy. Lowe finished with career highs in games (150) and bWAR (5.3). Lowe felt his injury history has been filled with “bad luck,” including a few oblique issues, back inflammation and a fractured right patella.
“I felt really good pretty much the whole year, and can't ask for anything more,” Lowe said. “... When you're out there, you get enough games under your belt, the stats usually follow.”
“We'll cross that bridge when we get there,” Lowe added when he was looking ahead to free agency. “But the opportunity to really set up generations of my family will be a pretty cool moment.”
Lowe came to the Pirates in the 2026 offseason in a three-team deal with Tampa Bay and Houston, which also brought Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh. Lowe was traded before the final year of his contract after an All-Star campaign in 2025, and he put up even better numbers in 2026.
When asked if he was worried that Lowe may have gone out of the Pirates' price range by playing so well, Cherington disagreed.
“I don't think you can, right? Like when we made the trade, if we would have said that this will be the outcome, we would have taken that 10 out of 10 times,” Cherington said.