Seattle Mariners Likely Out of Sweepstakes For This Player After News on Friday
On Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that they had picked up their team option on second baseman Brandon Lowe.
According to Rays reporter Marc Topkin, that option is for $10.5 million. The team holds another team option next season.
BREAKING: #Rays have picked up Brandon Lowe's $10.5M option for 2025. Will return for 8th season with Rays.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) November 1, 2024
This is noteworthy to Seattle Mariners fans because Lowe had been linked to the Mariners earlier this offseason. As predicted, the M's declined their team option on second baseman Jorge Polanco, meaning they have an opening at the position now. If Lowe had been become a free agent, he could have been a fit for Seattle. While the M's still technically could acquire Lowe via trade, he seems like much less of a fit now.
The former All-Star is coming off a year in which he played just 107 games and hit .244. Though he does have power (21 homers), he only got 68 at-bats against left-handed pitching last year, making him not a full-time player. More than $10 million is a lot of money, likely more than the M's want to spend, for a platoon player. He played just 109 games in 2023 and 65 in 2022.
For his career, Lowe is a .245 hitter. He made the All-Star Game back in 2019 and hit a career-high 39 homers back in 2021.
The M's could also try to bring Polanco back on a lesser deal next season, but if they don't, they will have had a new second baseman every single year since Robinson Cano was traded after the 2018 season.
Follow Inside the Mariners on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE:
