Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates complete blockbuster six-player trade

Each team's end of the deal breaks down as follows:

- The Pirates send right-hander Mike Burrows to the Astros and receive second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from the Rays.

- The Rays send second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery to the Pirates, receiving outfielder Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito from the Astros.

- The Astros send Jacob Melton and right-hander Anderson Brito to the Rays and receive right-hander Mike Burrows from the Pirates.

Lowe is the biggest name of the bunch here. The 31-year-old has spent the past eight seasons with the Rays.

In that time, he has established himself as one of the better power-hitting second basemen in the sport. Dating back to the start of 2019, he has hit 151 home runs.

Mangum is not likely to be a massive lineup boost, but he got into 118 games with the Rays this year as a speed-and-defense guy with a contact-based approach.

His 15% strikeout rate was lower than league average but he also only drew walks at a 4% clip and hit only three home runs.

His .296/.330/.368 batting line translated to a 95 wRC+ but he stole 27 bases and got strong defensive grades in all three outfield slots.

The Pirates also picked up a reliever in Montgomery. The southpaw tossed 55 2/3 innings for the Rays over the past two years, allowing 5.01 earned runs per nine.

He struck out 32.5% of batters faced and got grounders on 45% of balls in play but also gave out walks at a big 13% clip.

He has a high-90s fastball, as well as a cutter and a slider, but control is clearly an issue.

In order to get those players, the Pirates are making a notable subtraction from their rotation.

Burrows, 26, was an 11th-round pick and spent many years in the middle range of Pittsburgh's top 30 prospects.

However, he has increased his stock lately. He has thus far tossed 99 1/3 innings in his big league career with a 3.90 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 41.9% ground ball rate.

Burrows is a sensible addition for the Astros. Injuries tore apart their rotation in 2026.

Luis Garcia required yet another elbow surgery and was jettisoned from the roster. Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter all required Tommy John surgery during the 2025 season and are facing lengthy absences.

To get that affordable rotation upgrade, the Astros are subtracting from their outfield mix and their long-term pitching pipeline.

Melton, now 25, debuted in 2025 but didn't hit the ground running. He hit just .157/.234/.186 this year, though in a tiny sample of 78 plate appearances.

A right ankle sprain cost him a decent chunk of the season, as he only got into 67 games between Triple-A and the Majors.

Brito is also an attractive piece but he's farther away. An amateur signing out of Venezuela, he has limited professional experience, having not yet reached the Double-A level.

Thus far, he has shown big strikeout stuff but he's clearly still working on controlling his stuff.

He has thrown 103 minor league innings over 2024 and 2025 with a 2.36 ERA, walking 11.7% of batters faced but also punching them out at a 35% clip.