The Rays announced that they have exercised their club option on infielder . Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news prior to the official announcement. The club could have given Lowe a $1MM buyout and sent him to free agency but have instead locked in his $10.5MM salary for the upcoming season. There wasnt much suspense with this decision. Lowe has hit .245/.330/.482 in his career for a 126 wRC+. That includes a .244/.311/.473 line in 2024 for a 123 wRC+. He has mostly played second base in his career but has also Tyler Kinley Jersey spent some time at first base and in the outfield corners. Hes not considered especially strong at any of those spots but the versatility is still useful. He has mi sed plenty of time due to injuries in his career, only once getting into 110 games in a season, but his production has been strong whenever hes been out there. Back in March of 2019, when Lowe had just 43 MLB games on his ledger, he and the Rays agreed to a six-year, $24MM contract extension. The Rays are undoubtedly happy with their return on that investment, given Lowes performance. They have triggered the club option to keep Lowe around for 2025 and his contract has another club option for 2026. He can be retained for that season at a rate of $11.5MM with a $500K buyout. The question now is if the Rays will hold him or trade him. The franchise often trades players as they get more expensive and closer to free agency, which applies to Lowe. According to , the projected 2025 payroll is fairly similar to what they paid in 2024. A few non-tenders of their arbitration-eligible players could give them some breathing space but they are also facing the uncertainty of their stadium situation. With Tropicana Field badly damaged by Hurricane Milton, its po sible that the club has to spend the upcoming season or seasons as nomads. That could have financial implications in terms of ticket sales, refunds, repairs and so on. Even if that situation is largely resolved by insurance or other means, the Rays normally keep payroll down by trading players in this situation for younger, cheaper and more controllable alternatives. As such, it wouldnt be a surprise if Lowes name pops up in trade rumors this winter. Noel Cuevas Jersey