PITTSBURGH -- Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe was named to the All-MLB Second Team, placing behind Milwaukee’s Brice Turang for the top spot. Lowe was honored alongside the rest of MLB’s top players during the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
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In his first season with Pittsburgh, Lowe showed off with 96 RBIs and an .824 OPS, leading second basemen with 35 homers. He’s also a National League Silver Slugger Award finalist for the second consecutive season.
Lowe came to the Pirates last offseason in a three-team deal with Tampa Bay and Houston that also brought Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh. Lowe also improved his defense with the Pirates, flipping a -10 fielding run value in 2025 with the Rays to a +12 with Pittsburgh. He became a Gold Glove Award finalist for the first time in his career, and he also played a career-high 150 games while recording a career-best 5.4 bWAR.
The 32-year-old was on the ballot against 11 other MLB second basemen, and three others from the NL Central. The initiative was introduced to honor players’ full-season contributions, given that All-Star selections are based on first-half performance. Fans were asked to vote at MLB.com to help choose First and Second Team selections at each position (including three outfielders, a designated hitter, five starting pitchers and two relievers) among this year's nominees. Only regular-season criteria were asked to be considered.
Turang, a star of the Brewers’ World Series-winning team, posted a slightly better season, with a 7.3 bWAR, 19 stolen bases and a Gold Glove Award. On Baseball Reference’s comparison page, Lowe only led in home runs, slugging percentage and OPS.
Lowe earned Second Team honors in the shortened 2020 season and has earned two All-Star nods over his career. He’s the first Pirates position player to make an All-MLB team, and just the second player after Paul Skenes’ nod in 2024 and ‘25.
Lowe was the only Pittsburgh player of five nominees to make one of the teams. Starting pitchers Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft didn’t make the cut, nor did Montgomery or third baseman Nick Gonzales.
Lowe is now a free agent with 2026 in the rearview. The Pirates extended him a $23.15 million qualifying offer to remain with the club in 2027 and have shown interest in bringing him back to again lead the way.