Wild Three-Team Trade Sends Brandon Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been trying to land a big bat all offseason, and they have finally got their man! While it is not quite as tantalizing as signing Kyle Schwarber, the Pirates have landed a 30-HR bat in Brandon Lowe in a three-team trade.

Lowe is the headliner, but this is a monster trade that sees six players change hands between three teams, with the Houston Astros helping the Rays and Pirates facilitate the trade.

To acquire Lowe, the Pirates sent out only right-hander Mike Burrows, who went to the Houston Astros. The Astros trade outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito to the Rays, who send Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum, and left-hander Mason Montgomery.

It is a wild trade to try to break down, so let’s take this team by team and try to understand why they were willing to make this deal.

What Are the Pirates Getting?

This is the easiest team to explain, as the Pirates have been looking for bats all offseason, and they land two in one trade. Last year, the Pirates’ leading home run hitter was Oneil Cruz with 20, and Bryan Reynolds led the team with 73 RBIs.

Brandon Lowe is coming off a season where he hit 31 home runs and drove in 83 runs in just 134 games. Lowe has cleared at least 20 home runs in each of the last three seasons, and has a 39-HR season on his resume back in 2021, the last time he played over 140 games in a year.

The Pirates can keep Lowe’s bat in the lineup more if they use him as their DH, but they also can play him at either first or second base, depending on who earns playing time in spring training.

Along with Lowe, the Pirates also nab Jake Mangum, who is coming off a strong rookie campaign where he hit .296/.330/.368, while playing good defense at all three spots in the outfield. The Pirates can use him as a high-end fourth outfielder, who is likely in the starting lineup more than he’s not.

The final piece is left-hander Mason Montgomery, who is coming off a rocky first full season in the Rays bullpen. Montgomery pitched to a 5.67 ERA across 46 innings, but did strike out 30.1% of the batters that he faced.

A lefty who was sitting 98.7 MPH with his fastball last year, with a good slider, there is a lot to like with Montgomery if he can throw strikes more consistently.

What Are the Pirates Giving Up?

The Pirates were able to pull off this trade by giving up just one player, right-handed starting pitcher Mike Burrows.

Burrows had a solid rookie campaign in 2025, pitching to a 3.94 ERA across 96 innings pitched. He made 19 starts and pitched in 23 games overall, striking out 97 batters.

This trade really shows the value of starting pitching on the market, as the Pirates get back three players for their big league roster by trading one. Burrows comes with six years of control, which obviously the Astros valued, but for the Pirates, they traded from an area of depth.

What Are the Astros Getting?

The Houston Astros needed some depth in their rotation behind ace Hunter Brown, and they were able to find it by making this trade. Mike Burrows may not be the sexiest offseason addition, but he is a breath of fresh air for a rotation that is crawling with injury questions.

Lance McCullers had a rough return to the mound last year and has not pitched even 60 innings in a season since 2021. Cristian Javier will be pitching in his first full season post-Tommy John surgery, and Ryan Weiss was just signed from the KBO, offering another Wild Card to the rotation.

If Burrow can eat 140 innings and pitch to the same 3.94 ERA he posted for the Pirates last year, the Astros will be thrilled.

What Are the Astros Giving Up?

The Astros are sending their No. 4 and No. 5 prospects in this deal, trading former second-round pick Jacob Melton to the Rays, along with right-handed pitcher Anderson Brito.

Melton may project to be a fourth outfielder in the big leagues, but the Rays will take the chance on being to unlock even more of his upside to being a big league regular.

In our latest update of the Astros system, Aram Leighton said that Brito, “has the highest upside of any arm in the Astros system”.

This is a lot to give up from an Astros system that was not very deep to begin with, but filling MLB innings is a tough thing to do. If Burrows becomes a fixture in their rotation, he will be worth the steep cost of acquisition.

What Are the Rays Getting?

The Tampa Bay Rays were not in a position where they needed to land a starter who could eat innings for them, so Mike Burrows was not an attractive piece.

Instead, they take two Astros prospects back, betting on their ability to develop these players into bigger contributors down the line.

For Melton, the Rays could be looking at an instant Jake Mangum replacement. Melton replaces a lot of what Magum did well when it comes to the defense and bringing speed to the basepaths. He does not have the same hit tool as Mangum, but he has a chance at 20-HR upside.

If Melton taps into the power more with the Rays, there is every chance that they are thrilled with their swap of Mangum for Melton in this three-team trade.

The Rays also land a great project arm in Brito, who could become the steal of this trade.

What Are the Rays Giving Up?

Obviously, Brandon Lowe is the big name and the best player moved in this deal, but his $11.5 million contract likely brought down his trade value a good amount anyway.

The Rays are essentially swapping Jake Magum with Jacob Melton on their roster, and they are moving off an exciting yet unproven arm in Mason Montgomery. The Rays churn through relievers, so dealing Montgomery is not of much consequence to them.

One of the biggest parts of this trade for the Rays is the salary relief. They landed a few pieces they like for sure, but ultimately, this clears $11.5 million off their books that they can reallocate in free agency if the right piece falls into their laps.