The Angels upgraded their outfield, acquiring Josh Lowe from the Rays as part of a three-team trade Friday that included the Halos sending left-hander Brock Burke to the Reds and Tampa Bay acquiring infielder Gavin Lux from Cincinnati and minor league right-hander Chris Clark from the Angels.
Angels get: BY Josh Lowe
Red gets: LHP Brock Burke
Radiation detects: INF Gavin Lux, RHP Chris Clark
Lowe, who turns 28 in February, fits the bill for a left-handed hitter the Angels were in the market for. However, what position he may play is still unclear. The Angels have a clear need for a center fielder, and Lowe has played mostly right field, although he has some experience in center and left.
“We really like Josh Lowe,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said during a Zoom call with reporters on Friday. “We think he has the potential to be a big player. He’s done it before. Obviously he’s had up and down seasons with injuries, but he’s a player we believe can play all three. [outfield spots]. He has been very productive against the right wing, and we use the right hand as a club. So, a chance to get a player like this at his age and the years he has left [on his contract] it makes a lot of sense.”
Whether the Angels decide to pair him with Bryce Teodosio in center or play him elsewhere, Lowe provides much-needed power against right-handed pitching. He is a career .266 hitter with a .772 OPS against right-handers in his five Major League seasons, as opposed to hitting just .181 with a .504 OPS vs.
Lowe enjoyed his best season as a major leaguer in 2023, when he hit .292 with an .835 OPS, .835 OPS, 20 runs, 33 doubles, 83 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 135 games with Tampa Bay. He has struggled to replicate that success over the past two seasons, and much of that thought may be due to injuries. He dealt with oblique and hamstring problems in ’24, then developed another severe oblique strain in his first game last season that kept him out until May 15 in a campaign in which he hit .220 with a .650 OPS, 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 108 games.
Burke, who recently agreed to a one-year, $2.325 million contract through the 2026 season with the Angels to avoid settlement, was arguably the best left back in the Angels bullpen last season, posting a 3.36 ERA in 69 games with 52 strikeouts and 18 walks across 612 innings. His departure leaves the Angels with a need in the bullpen that can be filled internally or externally via free agency or trade.
“We are still working in the free market, and there are still discussions in the trade market,” Minasian said. “We’ll see how everything goes in the next three or four weeks and how we look when we get to the spring. We’ve got some left arms that we like a lot if they had to come out of the bullpen, we believe they can. But we’ll see where the season takes us.”
A first-round pick by the Rays in the 2016 MLB Draft, Lowe is looking for a bounce-back season and should get ample opportunity to do so with the Angels, who were looking to add another outfielder or left-handed hitter before Spring Training.
“We still want to improve our offense,” Minasian said. “We still have spots that we believe we can improve or at least bring the tournament. There are still many good players out there. We will see how everything will happen next month.”
