Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s middling Yankees walk year could cost Pirates in Brandon Lowe chase

Pretty much since the moment he took his first at-bats in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, there's been incessant clamoring for Brandon Lowe to get a long-term extension. There are certainly concerns about handing big money to a 32-year-old middle infielder, but everything Lowe has shown us this season suggests he's worthy of a massive investment.

Of course, the Bucs haven't gone that route yet, and we don't even know if they've breached the topic with their star slugger. We know he's interested in sticking around, but to this point, the Pirates haven't made it clear if they're willing to spend the kind of money it'll take to keep him in Pittsburgh.

That hesitancy might wind up costing them in the near future if it lasts. A thin free-agent market for bats -- especially when it comes to infielders -- is going to drive Lowe's price tag up, especially since a lot of his direct competition hasn't performed at their peak levels in 2026.

Lack of infield competition in free agency could push Brandon Lowe's price tag beyond Pirates' range

The main story here is that Lowe has played his way into "star free agent" territory. The two-time All-Star (who should have earned a third trip to the Midsummer Classic) is hitting .260/.330/.489 with a 119 wRC+ this season, hitting more than 30 home runs for the second consecutive season. He leads all second baseman this year in homers and slugging percentage.

He's also added elite defense to his repertoire this year (+14 Defensive Runs Saved and +14 Outs Above Average), which has helped him achieve a career-best fWAR of 4.7. With a strong final week, he could join Brice Turang as the only second basemen in the league to cross the 5.0 threshold.

Beyond that, though, it's going to help his free-agent case that some of the other star infielders aren't putting up big contract years. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the obvious point of comparison as a fellow second baseman; he's had a respectable season (19 homers, 40 steals, 3.4 fWAR), but his OPS has dropped by nearly 100 points from his Silver-Slugging-winning effort a year ago. He, like Bo Bichette (95 wRC+), has probably cost himself a few dollars this season.

In other words, there's a really good case to be made that, save for Teruaki Sato of Nippon Professional Baseball, Lowe will be the best infielder to hit free agency this offseason. There's also going to be competition in the form of Luis Arraez (111 wRC+, 4.2 fWAR) and Jake Bauers (147 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR), but the former is a contact-first hitter and Bauers is a first baseman. The combination of power and defensive value that Lowe offers are unparalleled in this class.

You can be sure other teams know that and will offer contracts that reflect such a fact. You can also be sure that the Pirates probably won't match the the highest offer Lowe is likely to receive. As such, if he's going to remain with the team beyond 2026, a last-second extension is probably our final hope.

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