While Kyle Tucker baseball’s biggest headliners, the Rays, Angels and Reds have reportedly traded for three teams. The one who plays outside Josh Lowe heads from Tampa Bay to the Angels. The Rays get a utilityman Gavin Lux from Cincinnati and a minor league pitcher Chris Clark from Halos. The Reds get a free on the left Brock Burke from Los Angeles. The parties have not officially announced the agreement.
The second trade involving the Angels’ everyday outfielder this offseason. This time, the player comes in his own way. Lowe will fill the outdoor space left Taylor Wardwho was sent to Baltimore because Grayson Rodriguez. Tampa Bay entered the winter with Lowes, but the club will enter 2026 without one. The versatile Lux can fill the void left by the Brandon Lowe deal. Cincinnati is getting a veteran southpaw, while also dropping the $5.525MM contract that Lux received in settlement. Burke will do about half of that this season.
Lowe appeared on the Tampa Bay roster after a great 20/30 campaign in 2023. He posted a 135 wRC+ in his first season as a regular. Injuries would hamper his production over the next two seasons. Oblique and hamstring issues have delayed the start of his 2024 season. The oblique cost him time later that year, and again early this past season. He hasn’t produced when healthy this year, stumbling to a career-worst 79 wRC+ behind a .220/.283/.366 batting line. Lowe hit .139 with a 35.3% slugging rate in his final month with the team.
With Ward gone again Mike Trout penciled in at DH, the Angels have limited options in the outfield before the move. Lowe will now step into the sidelines Jo Adell again Jorge Soler. The radiation had kept him from spending much time there, and for good reason. Lowe has a .504 OPS and a 33% strikeout rate in his limited career against same-handed pitching (288 plate appearances). He may be ticketed for regular at-bats given his lack of teammates. Right winger currently on the bench Bryce Teodosiofirst glove option. Trout only made 22 appearances last season, but that could change given other options.
A former first-round pick, Lowe is a pinch hitter with slightly above-average bat speed. The above-mentioned 20-30 season shows his physical rise, but stiffness and anxiety about hitting prevented him from establishing himself as a room player. He has only reached 500 plate appearances in a season.
Lowe played minor league early in his career. Most of his experience has come in handy, and he’s pitched just seven innings over the past two seasons. He will be stretched in the middle defensively, however that is also true of Trout and Adell. The Halos will likely need to live with strong defense from Lowe or Adell to find a better bat than Teodosio in the lineup, at least until the 20-year-old plays center field. Nelson Rada it arrives.
Tampa Bay and Lowe settled on a $2.6MM deal to avoid arbitration this year. It was his first trip to the show. He’s managed three seasons and still has a minor league option remaining, so the Halos can move him down without letting him go. The Angels’ payroll estimate on RosterResource still sits about $30MM below last year’s mark.
The Reds acquired Lux last season in a trade with the Dodgers. He produced league average results at the plate in his one season in Cincinnati, hitting .269/.350/.374 with five homers in a career-high 503 plate appearances. Lux made most of his appearances in left field, while also spending time at second base and third base. He was also often used as a pinch hitter.
Lux has been one of Cincinnati’s most reliable hitters, but he’s never been much of a power threat. The former leadoff hitter has never hit more than 10 homers in any of his 5-plus MLB seasons. Last winter’s trade change and move to Great American Ball Park didn’t really move the needle. The left-handed hitter has a solid floor but is likely inexperienced as he enters his age-28 season.
The biggest drawback is that Lux never settles in a clear home. He doesn’t move that much because he is incredibly versatile and because he can defend himself in different positions. His throwing accuracy has been a constant problem in the infield, even at second base. Defensive metrics don’t reflect well on his work at outside corner.
The Rays had a glaring gap at second base after the (first) Lowe trade. The interior options were not encouraging, however Richie Palacios He has some similarities as a left-handed hitter that comes built around his lower-order skills. Lux should step into a more or less everyday role, and Tampa Bay’s usual platoon shenanigans may hold his reps against left-handed pitching. He could also get a rotational outfield job, replacing Josh Lowe as the left-handed bat in the outfield that remains largely uncertain. Lux is a one-year extension who will hit free agency for the first time next winter.
The Angels said Burke, a former Rays coach, was released by the Rangers in August 2024. His one-and-a-half year with the club represented one of the best major league careers. Burke compiled a 3.40 ERA in 90 appearances as an Angel. He played a career-high 69 games last year. The 29-year-old is in his final year of arbitration and will be a free agent next season.
Burke was able to get into more gear after joining the Angels. He sat 94-95 mph after switching from the rotation to the bullpen with the Rangers. In LA, Burke hit his heater at 96 mph. He also increased his use of the slider and club. Burke had a career high 30.5% strikeout rate with the Angels in 2024. That number dropped by more than 10 points in 2025, but he countered with a career-best 53.3% ground ball rate. Burke doesn’t have a platoon of different pitches and isn’t a situational specialist like the regular arm Terry Francona would use in the middle innings.
Cincinnati was counting on him Taylor Rogers as its starting lefty last season, until he was sent to the Cubs at the deadline. The Reds added Burke once Caleb Ferguson to fill the role of 2026. They also offered the contract out of options Sam Mollso it looks like they will start the season with three veterans in the relief team.
Clark was selected by the Angels in the fifth round in 2023. He posted a 4.73 ERA in 28 minor league appearances this past season. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs praised Clark’s transition and loose arm heading into the 2025 campaign. The righty uses the sinker and the sweeper as his two primary pitches. A change would fit well. Clark, 24, pitched in Double-A last year. He has made one start at the level and is likely to return there to open the 2026 season.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first on the commercial. Image courtesy of Chris Tilley, Gary A. Vasquez of Imagn Images.
