The Tampa Bay Rays executed the most straightforward part of their offseason. There will be plenty of difficult decisions in the upcoming months. They picked up the contract options of two infielders, which give them plenty of flexibility in determining the best path forward.
Will one of these gentlemen be traded this winter?
Rays Pick Up Contract Options on Two Middle Infielders
The Rays exercised the option on second baseman Brandon Lowe, an $11.5 million club option for the 2026 season. Lowe, 31, will become a free agent next winter. Of course, that presumes the Rays will actually hang onto the native of Maryland. His name is appearing all over the rumor mill after a season in which he slashed .256/.307/.477 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs in 134 games. The 31 home runs were the second-best of his career and the highest tally since 2021. A career .247 hitter, Lowe doesn’t possess elite defensive grades but can hit for power as long as he is healthy.
2B Brandon Lowe has been informed #Rays are picking up his $11.5M option for 2026.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) November 6, 2025
Simultaneously, the club and infielder Taylor Walls announced that they will exercise a $2.45 million club option this season and added another club option for 2027. Walls, 29, is a wizard defensively (17 Defensive Runs Saved), and his overall contributions amounted to a finalist for the American League Gold Glove at shortstop. The issue was a subpar .220/.280/.319 and four home runs in 101 games this season. If Walls can provide excellent defense at shortstop and anything offensively, then paying him at this rate is actually a good deal for the Rays.
The Immediate Ramifications
The Rays picking up Walls’ option doesn’t mean that they are giving up Carson Williams. Having said that, Williams demonstrated that he still has a lot of work to do, potentially beginning at Triple-A at the start of the regular season. In 32 games, Williams slashed .172/.219/.354 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Williams posted a 41.5% strikeout rate with the Rays last season. He only walked at a 5.7% clip, nearly three points below league average. Walls can be a steady presence if Williams’ development doesn’t follow a linear path. Walls can steal a couple of bags too, having swiped 14 bags this season. If the failed Ha-Seong Kim experiment had played out differently, maybe the Rays would be looking at a different situation at shortstop.
Regarding Lowe, the Rays can continue engaging other clubs in trade talks. Trading him would be the least surprising maneuver because they typically move players as they approach free agency. Keeping Lowe will boost the Rays’ playoff odds, given that the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays reside in the same division. A healthy version of Lowe can play competent defense and provide power to pair with Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero in the middle of the lineup.
The Last Word
The Rays need to be a little careful about trading Lowe because they aren’t teeming with second basemen waiting in the minor leagues. A trade of Lowe needs to bring back outfielders for more offensive production. Lowe put together one of his healthiest seasons without too many flaws in his batted ball production, so this could be the time to extract maximum value.
Walls can be penciled in for a certain amount of production, along with a relatively limited ceiling. There is nothing wrong with having that player on your roster, but the Rays have bigger items on their shopping list if they want to make the playoffs next season.
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