Pirates' Brandon Lowe dilemma could make Mitch Keller, Bryan Reynolds expendable

As you may have heard, Brandon Lowe is about to become a free agent. And, as you may remember, he was kind of important to the Pittsburgh Pirates' competitive efforts in 2026.

Naturally, he's going to cost a lot of money to re-sign. He very well may be the best hitter on the market coming off his 35-homer, 121 wRC+ season, and he now has the Gold Glove finalist credentials to match his prowess at the plate. Even at 32 years old, there's a lot of contenders who are going to want a middle infielder with that résumé.

Because the Pirates are the Pirates, they're not really in a strong position to win any bidding wars, even for their own guys. To "create" room on the payroll for a new Lowe contract, they may have to shed another sizable deal.

Which, at this point, might just be worth it.

To afford Brandon Lowe's next contract, the Pirates may have to shake up the status quo

The good news is that Lowe has already expressed an interest in staying in Pittsburgh for the long haul. The bad news is that his next contract is almost certainly going to blow past the biggest salaries on the Pirates' books for 2027, which currently belong to Mitch Keller ($18.4 million) and Bryan Reynolds ($15.25 million).

I want to emphasize that the trade-off here isn't about salary dumping two valuable players from the roster; this is a test of the Pirates' priorities. Lowe established himself as a crucial part of the team this year, and if the front office is willing to deem him "indispensable," then difficult decisions will have to be made.

As things stand, moving Keller would probably be a little more palatable. The Pirates have really strong rotation depth and the veteran right-hander is coming off a tough season (5.29 ERA). Still, he's long been one of the league's most durable starters, and his veteran presence on a young pitching staff is more important than we give it credit for.

Likewise, if the front office wants to get a little bit more in a trade, they could opt to shop Reynolds. The two-time All-Star rounded back nicely into form this year after a down 2025 campaign, hitting .261/.365/.424 (118 wRC+) while posting +9 Defensive Runs Saved in left field. His age (32 in January) and salary might limit his market, but you can be sure another team would love to add his bat to their lineup.

Of course, the ideal outcome here is that the Bucs can keep the whole band together without having to get rid of anyone. After all, it'd be pretty counterproductive to trade a strong hitter like Reynolds just to keep another one like Lowe. But that's probably only feasible if they're content with just adhering to the status quo; if they want to bring back Lowe and sign another big bat, some payroll reshuffling will be in order.

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