Yankees proposed blockbuster lands $10.5M Gleyber Torres replacement from Rays

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have gotten more acquainted with each other than usual already this offseason. Perhaps that will help facilitate a surprise trade.

Because their home stadium, Tropicana Field, was devastated by Hurricane Milton, the Rays will be playing their 2025 home games at George Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' nearby Spring Training facility. They'll pay New York $15 million for the hospitality, per several reports.

Soon, the attention will shift back to the baseball field, and the Yankees and Rays could still have some business to take care of. One side is the ultimate buyer and the other the ultimate seller, which may set the table for a surprise trade.

The Rays picked up the $10.5 million club option for second baseman Brandon Lowe, who is slated to be their highest-paid player in 2025. But Tampa is always willing to trade any player approaching free agency, and the Yankees are currently without a starting second baseman.

The dots certainly connect, as Michael Brakebill of FanSided pointed out in a recent Lowe-to-Yankees trade proposal.

The New York Yankees should entice the Tampa Bay Rays to shed payroll further, as we saw last season, and pry slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe away. The fit is obvious: Gleyber Torres is a free agent, and the Yanks could use another power lefty that could benefit from the short porch in right field," Brakebill said.

"The Rays are all about having an advanced farm system that can churn out prospects, and they could land a good one from the Yankees, who are in all-in mode after losing the World Series this season."

Lowe, 30, has one more club option remaining on his contract for 2026, at $11.5 million He was an American League All-Star in 2019 and has two top-10 Most Valuable Player finishes, including 2021, when he hit a career-high 39 home runs.

Health has been something of a concern for Lowe the past three years, as he's been limited to 109 games or less all three times. But the Yankees, who are set to lose starter Gleyber Torres in free agency, could be willing to compensate the Rays handsomely for a cost-controlled left-handed slugger.

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