The Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels completed a three-team trade on Thursday, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Outfielder Josh Lowe went from the Rays to the Angels, infielder Gavin Lux and minor league pitcher Chris Clark are going to Tampa Bay, and left-handed reliever Brock Burke is going to the Reds in the deal.
Lowe, turning 28 on Feb. 2, is arguably the bigger piece in this deal. Last season, the right fielder batted .220/.283/.366 with 21 doubles, 11 home runs, 40 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 108 games for the Rays.
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Tampa Bay’s 2016 first-round draft pick (No. 13 overall), Lowe had his best season in 2023 when he hit 20 homers with 83 RBI and 32 steals, batting .292/.335/.500. He is eligible for arbitration for the first time this year, giving the Angels three years of club control.
In return, the Rays get Lux, who hit .269/.350/.374 with five homers and 53 RBI in his lone season for the Reds after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has one more season of arbitration eligibility before becoming a free agent. In six MLB seasons, Lux is a .256/.332/.381 batter with 33 homers and 208 RBI. He has mostly played at second base, but also appeared at shortstop, left field and center field.
Additionally, Tampa Bay adds Clark. The right-hander, 24, mostly pitched in Single-A last year, eventually advancing to High-A and then Double-A. Overall, he compiled a 4.73 ERA and 4-10 record with 153 strikeouts in 144 2/3 innings. Clark was the Angels’ fifth-round selection in 2023 out of Harvard.
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Burke goes to Cincinnati after pitching the past two seasons with the Angels. Last year, the left-hander notched a 3.36 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. Burke, 29, was originally a 2014 third-round pick by the Rays, but eventually reached the major leagues with the Texas Rangers in 2019. In five MLB seasons, he has a 3.88 ERA with a rate of 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
