The Astros, Pirates and Rays have completed a big three-team trade. Each team’s end of the deal breaks down as follows…
- The Pirates send right-hander Mike Burrows to the Astros and receive second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from the Rays.
- The Rays send second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery to the Pirates, receiving outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito from the Astros.
- The Astros send Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito to the Rays and receive right-hander Mike Burrows from the Pirates.
The Bucs have a full 40-man roster and will have to make two corresponding moves, which they have not announced yet.
Lowe is the biggest name of the bunch here. The 31-year-old has spent the past eight seasons with the Rays. In that time, he has established himself as one of the better power-hitting second basemen in the sport. Dating back to the start of 2019, he has hit 151 home runs. Among primary second basemen, only Marcus Semien and Jose Altuve are ahead of him in that category, with Semien having 178 homers in that span and Altuve 158.
That power production from Lowe is even more impressive when one considers that he did that in about one thousand fewer plate appearances than Altuve and about 1,600 shy of Semien. But that also demonstrates the main knock on Lowe, which is that he has had trouble staying on the field. Due to various injuries over the years, he has only twice been able to play more than 107 games in a season. Lower back problems have been a frequent issue but he’s also hit the injured list due to a right shin bone bruise, a right triceps contusion, a right patella fracture, a right oblique strain, left oblique tightness and left ankle/foot tendinitis.
Earlier in his career, the Rays moved Lowe between second base and the outfield corners. Presumably because of the injuries, he hasn’t been sent out to the grass since 2022. He has been almost exclusively a second baseman lately, with a few stints at first as well. His second base defense was once around league average but seems to have slipped as he has battled those injuries and pushed into his 30s. He was given a minus-13 grade from Outs Above Average this year and minus-14 from Defensive Runs Saved.
There’s also a bit of concern from his declining plate discipline. He has always had a high strikeout rate but offset that earlier in his career with solid walk rates. That hasn’t been the case lately, as Lowe walked in fewer than 8% of his plate appearances in each of the past two years.
The power has still been enough to carry the profile. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has 52 home runs and a .251/.309/.475 batting line. That translates to a 118 wRC+, indicating his offense has been 18% above league average overall. Despite the defensive shortcomings, FanGraphs credited him with four wins above replacement in 241 games over that two-year span. He is going to make $11.5MM in 2026 before he’s slated to reach free agency.
Though Lowe is an imperfect player, he will be a big upgrade for the Pirates. They had almost no offensive prowess to speak of in 2025. Spencer Horwitz was the only Pirate to produce a wRC+ higher than 101.
While the Bucs had a clear lack of offense, they have a huge pile of pitching talent. Paul Skenes is the clear headliner but they have plenty of other exciting young arms in the mix. After several years struggling to return to contention, the Bucs came into this winter looking to get aggressive in upgrading the offense.
They made some spirited attempts in free agency, making competitive offers to Kyle Schwarber and Josh Naylor before they re-signed with the Phillies and Mariners respectively. Even if the Bucs had succeeded in signing one of those guys or someone else, it always seemed likely that they would use their stockpile of young arms to bolster the offense. This is the second such trade of the offseason for the Bucs. They sent Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox earlier this month as part of a five-player swap, with outfielder Jhostynxon García coming back to Pittsburgh.
Lowe could jump in as the regular second baseman. The Bucs used guys like Jared Triolo, Nick Yorke and Nick Gonzales there in 2025 without anyone taking firm hold of the position. Given Lowe’s age, injury issues and defensive shortcomings, it’s also possible he sees significant time in the designated hitter slot. That would leave open some playing time for those guys, though Triolo and Gonzalez could also factor in at shortstop or third base.
Since Lowe is going into the final year of his deal, he’s just a one-year upgrade for the Pirates, though it’s possible they could make him a qualifying offer at season’s end if he has a healthy and productive campaign.
They had added yet another guy to their position player mix with Mangum, though he’s not likely to be a massive lineup boost. He got into 118 games with the Rays this year as a speed-and-defense guy with a contact-based approach. His 15% strikeout rate was lower than league average but he also only drew walks at a 4% clip and hit only three home runs. His .296/.330/.368 batting line translated to a 95 wRC+ but he stole 27 bases and got strong defensive grades in all three outfield slots.
Mangum has exactly one year of service time, meaning he’s at least two years from arbitration and five years from free agency. He also has a full slate of options, so he could be sent to Triple-A to serve as depth. The Bucs should have Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds in two outfield spots. One spot is available with guys like García, Jack Suwinski, Marco Luciano and others in the mix. Mangum could push for a regular role or a gig as a fourth outfielder, or he could end up in Triple-A, as mentioned. A lengthy optional assignment could delay his trajectory to arbitration and/or free agency.
The Bucs also picked up a reliever in Montgomery. The southpaw tossed 55 2/3 innings for the Rays over the past two years, allowing 5.01 earned runs per nine. He struck out 32.5% of batters faced and got grounders on 45% of balls in play but also gave out walks at a big 13% clip. He has a high-90s fastball, as well as a cutter and a slider, but control is clearly an issue.
He is also optionable and can be controlled for five years, so the Bucs can see if they can help him harness his stuff, without having to commit a big league roster spot. Pittsburgh’s southpaw relief contingent is currently headlined by Gregory Soto, with Evan Sisk and now Montgomery also in the mix.
In order to get those players, the Pirates are making a notable subtraction from their rotation. Burrows, 26, was an 11th-round pick and spent many years in the middle range of Pittsburgh’s top 30 prospects. However, he has increased his stock lately. He has thus far tossed 99 1/3 innings in his big league career with a 3.90 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 41.9% ground ball rate. He has averaged in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a slider, curveball and changeup. He has also thrown 83 2/3 innings in the minors over the past two seasons with a 4.20 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.
The Pirates are hoping that their trades this offseason have bolstered their lineup and bullpen, while the rotation could still be a strength despite the subtractions. Even without Oviedo and Burrows, they still have Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Thomas Harrington and others in the mix. Jared Jones is still recovering from Tommy John surgery but should rejoin that group at some point in 2026.
Burrows is a sensible addition for the Astros. Injuries tore apart their rotation in 2026. Luis Garcia required yet another elbow surgery and was jettisoned from the roster. Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter all required Tommy John surgery during the 2025 season and are facing lengthy absences.
In addition to the injury issues, they also lost Framber Valdez to free agency and don’t appear likely to re-sign him. That’s because they are reportedly hoping to avoid the competitive balance tax in 2026. RosterResource pegs them for a CBT number of around $220MM, which is roughly $24MM shy of the $244MM base threshold. That gives them some ability to do things but they also have other needs on the roster and presumably want to keep some powder dry for midseason additions.
Put it all together and the Astros came into the winter with a rotation consisting of Hunter Brown and a series of question marks. Cristian Javier should have a spot next year but he had middling results in 2025 after recovering from his own Tommy John surgery. They can’t count on Lance McCullers Jr. for anything after he posted a 6.51 ERA in his return from a lengthy injury absence. Jason Alexander is in the mix but is a veteran journeyman. Spencer Arrighetti, J.P. France, Colton Gordon, AJ Blubaugh and Miguel Ullola are on the 40-man but they’re all either unestablished at the big league level or struggled with injuries in 2025.
Adding to the rotation was obviously necessary but the budgetary situation has impacted their approach. Instead of going after top free agents, they have given modest deals to reclamation project Nate Pearson and KBO returnee Ryan Weiss.
Burrows also fits into the low-cost mode. He has less than a year of service time, meaning he’s still years away from arbitration and even further from free agency. He also still has an option season remaining, so the Astros can send him to Triple-A throughout the year if other guys push him for a rotation spot.
To get that affordable rotation upgrade, they are subtracting from their outfield mix and their long-term pitching pipeline. Melton, now 25, debuted in 2025 but didn’t hit the ground running. He hit just .157/.234/.186 this year, though in a tiny sample of 78 plate appearances. A right ankle sprain cost him a decent chunk of the season, as he only got into 67 games between Triple-A and the majors.
His minor league work is naturally more impressive. Prior to this trade, many outlets considered him the top prospect in Houston’s system. He’s considered a plus outfielder and baserunner. Though his 2025 was shortened by injury, he swiped at least 30 bags in the two previous minor league seasons. In 1,146 minor league plate appearances, he has a 22.6% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate, 48 home runs, .255/.334/.462 line and 110 wRC+.
Though Melton had reached the big leagues, he was part of a somewhat jumbled outfield mix consisting of Jake Meyers, Cam Smith, Jesús Sánchez, Zach Cole and Zach Dezenzo, with Yordan Alvarez also in the mix from time to time when he’s not the designated hitter. Meyers has been in some trade rumors but Melton was perhaps more appealing to the Rays. Meyers is down to two years of club control and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $3.5MM salary next year.
Melton has less than a year of service time, so he comes with six full years of control. He also has two option seasons remaining, so the Rays can keep him in Triple-A if he hasn’t yet earned a big league job with them. The Rays effectively swap him into their outfield mix for Mangum. He’ll compete for playing time with Chandler Simpson, Josh Lowe, Cedric Mullins, Jake Fraley, Jonny DeLuca, Richie Palacios and others.
Brito is also an attractive piece but he’s farther away. An amateur signing out of Venezuela, he has limited professional experience, having not yet reached the Double-A level. Thus far, he has shown big strikeout stuff but he’s clearly still working on controlling his stuff. He has thrown 103 minor league innings over 2024 and 2025 with a 2.36 ERA, walking 11.7% of batters faced but also punching them out at a 35% clip. Baseball America had him ranked as the #3 prospect in the Astros’ system before the deal.
The Rays have been busy today, as they have also sent Shane Baz to the Orioles for four prospects and a draft pick. This deal is also future-focused for them, as they have sent out three big leaguers for two prospects. Given the young and controllable talent they acquired, it’s possible this is some kind of setback for a rebuild.
On the other hand, Lowe was already a classic Rays trade candidate, as he is relatively expensive for them and nearing free agency. Baz isn’t quite the same, as he can still be controlled for three more seasons, but he is projected for a $3.1MM salary next year. Maybe the Rays will now pivot to investing in the roster, now that they’ve saved some money and bolstered their farm system.
Given that this deal involves three teams and half a dozen players, most of whom are young and controllable for years to come, it’s going to take quite a while to determine whether it was wise for the clubs involved. For now, it aligns with their immediate needs.
The Astros have bolstered their rotation without having to pay big bucks. They have subtracted one of their top prospects in Melton, but from an area of the roster with some depth. Brito is another notable prospect gone but he’s been replaced by a pitcher who can provide more help in the near term.
The Rays have saved a bit of money by trading Lowe. They also subtracted a couple of other players but one of them was in a crowded outfield mix with some fourth outfielder tendencies, the other a clearly talented but volatile reliever.
The Pirates were widely expected to move starting pitching to try to add to their position player group and this is the second time this winter they have executed a trade with that aim. There’s a bit of risk in giving up a controllable starter for an injury-prone bat with just one year of control and a couple of fringier pieces, but they needed to do something for the lineup and free agency was proving challenging. They have gone the trade route instead and used their area of greatest strength to hopefully patch over weaknesses elsewhere.
Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the elements of the deal. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com and Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported that the deal was done but pending medical reviews. Rome and Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that the deal was done.
Photos courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Kim Klement Neitzel, Nathan Ray Seebeck, Charles LeClaire, Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
The Orioles bolstered their rotation with an intradivision swap netting them right-hander Shane Baz from Tampa Bay, the teams announced Friday. In return, the Rays receive outfielder Slater de Brun, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret, outfielder Austin Overn and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. Baltimore designated lefty Josh Walker for assignment to open a roster spot for Baz (more on that move here).
Baz, 26, will step right into Baltimore’s rotation. As is the case with the recently traded Grayson Rodriguez, Baz once ranked as one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. In fact, a look back at Baseball America’s top 100 prospects of the 2022 season shows Rodriguez at No. 6 and Baz right behind him at No. 8.
Baltimore, of course, traded Rodriguez and his remaining four years of club control to the Angels in exchange for the final year of club control over slugging corner outfielder Taylor Ward. Rodriguez hasn’t pitched in a big league game in nearly 18 months due to injuries. Baz has his own lengthy injury history but pitched a career-high 166 1/3 innings across 31 starts for Tampa Bay last season. The two are different pitchers with different skill sets and different levels of risk, and both are projects (to varying extents). But it’s nevertheless notable that the O’s shipped out one former top-10 pitching prospect and just weeks later effectively replaced him by acquiring another.
In 2025, Baz worked to a 4.87 earned run average but drew more favorable reviews from metrics like SIERA (3.95) and FIP (4.37). He fanned 24.8% of his opponents, issued walks at a 9% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a better-than-average 46.7% rate. Home runs were the biggest problem for Baz, who saw 15.6% of the fly-balls against him clear the outfield fence and allowed an overall average of 1.41 homers per nine innings pitched.
Specifically, Baz was homer-prone in right-on-right matchups. The Rays played last year’s “home” games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field (the Class-A affiliate for the Yankees) while Tropicana Field was undergoing repairs after significant damage at the hands of Hurricane Milton. Steinbrenner Field played as the second most homer-friendly venue in MLB for right-handed hitters, per Statcast’s Park Factors; Baltimore’s Camden Yards was still homer-friendly to righties, but not nearly to the same extent.
If Baz can rein in the home run woes and continue to stay healthy, he has the makings of a mid-rotation starter. Those aren’t trivial caveats, however — particularly the health one. Baz had arthroscopic elbow surgery prior to the 2022 season, returned to pitch 27 innings that summer, and then went back on the injured list due to an elbow sprain. He underwent Tommy John surgery that September and missed all of the 2023 season and the first half of the 2024 campaign.
Injury concerns notwithstanding, Baz sat 97 mph with his four-seamer this past season and got strong results on a new knuckle curveball that he hadn’t previously used in the majors. Opponents hit just .214 and slugged .321 against that newly implemented breaking pitch. Baz also works off a changeup and a cutter (getting better results with the former in 2025), rounding out a four-pitch arsenal.
The Orioles will control Baz for another three seasons. He’s a Super Two player who’s eligible for the second of his four arbitration raises this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an eminently affordable $3.1MM salary for the right-hander. That bumps the Orioles’ projected payroll, per RosterResource, north of $140MM and gives them more than $178MM of luxury tax considerations. They’re still nearly $70MM from the first tax threshold.
Baltimore entered the offseason in clear need of rotation help. Baz adds a capable arm with some yet-untapped upside but isn’t the clear playoff-caliber starter Baltimore has sought (though he has the potential to become that). He joins Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer as rotation locks. Tyler Wells, Cade Povich, Brandon Young and Chayce McDermott are all candidates for the fifth spot who are already on the 40-man roster.
That’s solid depth, but the Orioles’ rotation still feels like it’s one veteran arm short. The team’s aggressive signing of Pete Alonso (plus acquisitions of Ward and Baz) are clear signals of a win-now mindset as they look to put an ugly 2025 season behind them. Adding a proven starter would go a long way toward realizing that goal. Baltimore has been linked to prominent free agents like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Tatsuya Imai — all of whom remain unsigned. Even after adding Alonso, Baz, Ward and free agent closer Ryan Helsley, their projected payroll is more than $20MM shy of last season’s Opening Day mark. There should be room to make another splash on the starting pitching front.
In exchange for the final three years of control over Baz, Tampa Bay is getting several of the Orioles’ top-30 prospects and a well-placed pick in the 2026 draft. Baseball America recently re-ranked the top-10 prospects in Baltimore’s system, placing Forret eighth among the bunch and calling him a potential No. 3 or 4 starter. The 21-year-old righty has strong command and a deep repertoire of six pitches, highlighted by a pair of above-average to plus breaking balls (curveball, sweeper). He split the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A, logging a combined 74 innings with a pristine 1.58 ERA, a huge 32.3% strikeout rate and a tidy 7.4% walk rate.
Forret is the only of the four prospects ranked inside BA’s top 10, though both de Brun and Bodine were top-10 names in the system on MLB.com’s midseason re-ranking of the bunch. The 18-year-old de Brun, in particular, is a big addition. He was selected with the No. 37 overall draft pick — coincidentally enough, a Competitive Balance Round A selection — just this past summer. De Brun didn’t play professionally following that lofty selection. He’ll head to the low minors in Tampa Bay’s system and make his professional debut there in 2026.
Baseball America called de Brun the top high school outfielder in last year’s draft class, lauding his plus-plus speed, above-average hit tool, strong throwing arm and good instincts in center field. He’s listed at just 5’9″ and has below-average power. He’ll be a yearslong development project, but if all goes well, the end result could be a table-setting center fielder with plus base-stealing ability and plus defense.
Bodine, 22, was selected seven picks ahead of de Brun in last summer’s draft. The former Coastal Carolina University standout got his feet wet with 11 games for the Orioles’ Class-A affiliate following the draft and hit well in that small sample. He’s a 5’10”, 200-pound, switch-hitting catcher who draws praise for a plus hit tool and good defensive skills. Like de Brun, he has below-average power. And, as one might expect for a catcher, his speed gets below-average ratings as well. Bodine hit .337/.440/.528 with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts during his three NCAA seasons and began his pro career with a 14-for-43 showing (13 singles, one double), five walks and eight strikeouts in 49 A-ball appearances.
As with both Bodine and de Brun, Overn is another recent, lofty draft pick for the Orioles. Selected out of USC with the No. 97 pick in 2024, he’s a blistering runner with good defensive skills but fringe power and strikeout concerns. Overn hit .249/.355/.399 between Baltimore’s Class-A and Double-A affiliates in 2025, connecting on 13 homers, 13 doubles and four triples. He also went 64-for-72 in stolen base attempts over just 114 minor league games. MLB.com ranked him 30th in Baltimore’s system following this year’s trade deadline, tabbing him as a potential fourth outfielder or, in a best-case scenario, a speed- and defense-oriented regular. He’ll likely need to improve his hit tool and/or add some more power to get to that ceiling.
The Rays also add a notable draft pick. Baltimore won the fifth pick in Competitive Balance Round A during this month’s lottery. The exact draft order isn’t set yet — draft compensation surrounding free agents who rejected qualifying offers could still impact it — but in 2025 that was the No. 37 overall selection. Coincidentally, that’s the very pick that the Rays traded to the O’s in exchange for reliever Bryan Baker. Baltimore used that pick to select de Brun. It now trades de Brun back to Tampa Bay alongside what could very well end up being the No. 37 pick in the subsequent season’s draft. Last year’s No. 37 pick had a $2.63MM slot value, though de Brun signed for an over-slot $4MM. The Rays are likely adding around $2.7MM in pool space to next year’s draft budget with the acquisition of this pick.
Subtracting Baz depletes a Rays rotation that already looked like it might be one arm short. At the moment, Tampa Bay’s rotation figures to include Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane McClanahan and Steven Matz. Joe Boyle, Joe Rock, Ian Seymour and top prospect Brody Hopkins are among the internal candidates to step into the five spot. The first three are already on the 40-man roster.
However, the Rays will also surely have McClanahan on an innings limit after he missed the past two full seasons due to UCL and nerve surgeries. They’ll need to add some more innings to this group one way or another. By shipping out Baz and second baseman Brandon Lowe in separate trades this morning, the Rays trimmed more than $14MM off their projected payroll for the upcoming season. Per RosterResource, they now sit at about $78MM. That’s right in line with last year’s Opening Day mark.
Coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs and played their home games in a minor league park, the Rays may not be anxious to add a starter making $10MM+ per year. But Tampa Bay ran an Opening Day payroll of $98MM as recently as 2024 and is now under new ownership. It stands to reason that there could be some room to add a modestly priced starter in free agency. Alternatively, the trades of Baz and Lowe have only revitalized a perennially solid Tampa Bay farm system. The Rays could turn to the trade market to bring in some more help in the weeks ahead.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported that the Orioles were nearing a deal to acquire Baz. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the Rays’ return.
While Kyle Tucker dominated baseball’s headlines, the Rays, Angels and Reds reportedly worked out a three-team trade. Outfielder Josh Lowe heads from Tampa Bay to the Angels. The Rays acquire utilityman Gavin Lux from Cincinnati and minor league pitcher Chris Clark from the Halos. The Reds get left-handed reliever Brock Burke from Los Angeles. The teams have not officially announced the deal.
It’s the second trade involving an everyday outfielder for the Angels this offseason. This time, the player is coming their way. Lowe will fill the outfield void left by Taylor Ward, who was shipped to Baltimore for Grayson Rodriguez. Tampa Bay entered the winter with a pair of Lowes, but the club will head into 2026 without either one. The versatile Lux can fill the void left by the Brandon Lowe deal. Cincinnati nets a veteran southpaw, while also getting off the $5.525MM contract Lux received in arbitration. Burke will make about half of that this season.
Lowe seemed like a fixture in Tampa Bay’s lineup after a massive 20/30 campaign in 2023. He posted a 135 wRC+ in his first season as a regular. Injuries would stifle his production the next two seasons. Oblique and hamstring issues delayed the start of his 2024 season. The oblique cost him time later that year, and then again at the beginning of this past season. He wasn’t productive when healthy this year, stumbling to a career-worst 79 wRC+ behind a .220/.283/.366 batting line. Lowe hit .139 with a 35.3% strikeout rate in his final month with the team.
With Ward gone and Mike Trout penciled in at DH, the Angels had limited options in the outfield prior to the move. Lowe will now slot in alongside Jo Adell and Jorge Soler. The Rays shielded him from lefties for much of his time there, and with good reason. Lowe has a .504 OPS and a 33% strikeout rate in his limited work against same-handed pitching (288 plate appearances). He could be ticketed for regular at-bats given the lack of a platoon partner. The right-handed bench outfielder is currently Bryce Teodosio, a glove-first option. Trout only made 22 starts in the outfield last season, but that could change considering the alternatives.
A former first-round pick, Lowe is a plus runner who has slightly above-average bat speed. The aforementioned 20-30 season hints at his physical upside, but the durability and strikeout concerns kept him from establishing himself as a cornerstone player. He has only once reached 500 plate appearances in a season.
Lowe played a little bit of center field early in his career. The vast majority of his experience has come in right, and he has only logged seven innings up the middle over the past two seasons. He’d be stretched in center defensively, yet that’s also true of Trout and Adell. The Halos will probably need to live with rough up-the-middle defense from Lowe or Adell to get a better bat than Teodosio’s in the lineup, at least until 20-year-old center field prospect Nelson Rada arrives.
Tampa Bay and Lowe settled on a $2.6MM deal to avoid arbitration this year. It was his first trip through the process. He’s controlled for three seasons and still has a minor league option remaining, so the Halos could send him down without putting him on waivers. The Angels’ estimated payroll on RosterResource still sits at about $30MM below last year’s mark.
The Reds acquired Lux last offseason in a trade with the Dodgers. He delivered league-average results at the plate in his lone season in Cincinnati, hitting .269/.350/.374 with five homers over a career-high 503 plate appearances. Lux made most of his appearances in left field, while also spending time at second base and third base. He was also used frequently as a pinch hitter.
Lux was one of Cincinnati’s more reliable on-base hitters, but he has never developed into much of a power threat. The former top prospect hasn’t hit more than 10 homers in any of his five-plus MLB seasons. Last winter’s change of scenery trade and move to Great American Ball Park didn’t really move the needle. The left-handed hitter has a solid offensive floor but probably doesn’t have much untapped upside as he enters his age-28 season.
The bigger drawback is that Lux has never settled into a clear positional home. He has moved around less because he’s an incredibly versatile and more due to his defensive struggles at various positions. His throwing accuracy has been an intermittent issue on the infield, even at second base. Defensive metrics haven’t looked favorably upon his work in the corner outfield.
The Rays had a clear gap at second base after the (first) Lowe trade. The internal choices were uninspiring, though Richie Palacios has some similarities as a left-handed hitter whose game is built around his on-base skills. Lux should step into a near-everyday role, with Tampa Bay’s typical platoon shenanigans likely capping his reps against left-handed pitching. He could also get some rotational corner outfield work, replacing Josh Lowe as a lefty bat in an outfield that remains without much certainty. Lux is a one-year addition who’ll reach free agency for the first time next winter.
The Angels claimed Burke, coincidentally a former Rays’ draftee, off waivers from the Rangers in August 2024. His one-and-a-half years with the club represented one of the better stretches of his big league career. Burke put together a 3.40 ERA across 90 appearances as an Angel. He pitched in a career-high 69 games last year. The 29-year-old is in his final year of arbitration and will hit free agency next season.
Burke was able to tap into more velocity after joining the Angels. He sat 94-95 mph after transitioning from the rotation to the bullpen with the Rangers. In L.A., Burke bumped his heater to 96 mph. He also upped his slider usage with the club. Burke had a career-high 30.5% strikeout rate with the Angels in 2024. That number fell by more than 10 points in 2025, but he counteracted it with a career-best 53.3% ground-ball rate. Burke doesn’t have huge platoon splits and isn’t a situational specialist so much as a generally steady arm whom Terry Francona can use in the middle innings.
Cincinnati relied on Taylor Rogers as its primary lefty last season, until he was sent to the Cubs at the deadline. The Reds have added Burke and Caleb Ferguson to fill the role for 2026. They also tendered a contract to the out-of-options Sam Moll, so it seems they’ll begin the season with three veteran lefties in the relief corps.
Clark was a fifth-round pick by the Angels in 2023. He posted a 4.73 ERA across 28 minor league appearances this past season. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs praised Clark’s developing changeup and loose arm action heading into the 2025 campaign. The righty uses a sinker and sweeper as his two main pitches. A changeup would fit in nicely. The 24-year-old Clark topped out at Double-A last year. He made just one start at the level and will likely be back there to open the 2026 season.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was first on the trade. Respective images via Chris Tilley, Gary A. Vasquez of Imagn Images.
