The Rays are set to acquire outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito in a three-way deal with the Astros and Rays that is pending physicals, a source told MLB.com's Alex Stumpf. Longtime Rays stalwart Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery are going from the Rays to the Pirates in the deal, which has not been confirmed by the clubs.
Houston is acquiring right-hander Mike Burrows from Pittsburgh, while sending Melton and Brito to Tampa Bay.
Melton split his time between the Astros and Triple-A Sugar Land in 2025. He hit .157 in 78 plate appearances with Houston, while slashing .286/.389/.556 with six homers and 12 steals in 35 games at Triple-A.
Pirates would receive: 2B Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum, LHP Mason Montgomery
Astros would receive: RHP Mike Burrows
Rays would receive: OF Jacob Melton, RHP Anderson Brito
Brito, 21, has a 2.36 ERA in two seasons in the Astros system.
Lowe was a rare thing in baseball: a long-tenured Ray. He was just the sixth player to spend the first eight years of his career with Tampa Bay, joining franchise stalwarts Evan Longoria, Kevin Kiermaier, Carl Crawford, Ben Zobrist and B.J. Upton. That was possible because of the contract Lowe signed in March 2019, a six-year pact that guaranteed him $24 million with club options for 2025 and ’26.
Lowe has hit 157 career homers, third-most in Rays history behind Longoria and Carlos Peña. His 446 career RBIs also ranked seventh in franchise history. That is a reflection of the power he possesses when healthy. Injuries were a problem after his career-best 39-homer, 99-RBI season in 2021, particularly a bothersome back issue, but he put those concerns behind him with an All-Star campaign this past year.
Lowe hit .256/.307/.477 with 83 RBIs in 134 games, his highest mark since taking the field 149 times in 2021. He recorded a franchise-record-tying 20-game hitting streak from June 11-July 5, a stretch in which he showed how he could almost single-handedly carry Tampa Bay’s lineup during one of his hot streaks.