Blue Jays Rumors: Brandon Lowe draws interest, but rival Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. could be the fallback

The GM Meetings are underway, and there is free agency news trickling out. Sportsnet's Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith reported Tuesday that Toronto is among the teams showing interest in Brandon Lowe. The 32-year-old second baseman and the Blue Jays have had preliminary talks according to the reports.

It's easy to see a fit for both sides here. Lowe hit .260/.331/.493 with 35 home runs and 96 RBI in 150 games for Pittsburgh in 2026. That gave him a 5.3 bWAR season while he finished as a Gold Glove finalist at second base.

Having spent the first seven years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays, he played a ton of games against the Blue Jays and put together a .280/.363/.550 in his career at Rogers Centre. With the Blue Jays finishing last in baseball with 648 runs and 152 home runs, Lowe's 35 homers alone would have led the club.

The underlying numbers back up the power. Lowe's 121 wRC+ and his .233 isolated power shows how much damage he does when he connects. Statcast likes the quality of contact as well. He posted a 91.0 mph average exit velocity (82nd percentile), a 12.4 percent barrel rate (82nd percentile) and a 45.8 percent hard-hit rate (79th percentile). That is the profile of a hitter the Blue Jays need to avoid a repeat of their anemic offensive performance from 2026.

The cost is the catch. Lowe received a $23.15-million qualifying offer from Pittsburgh, with the accept-or-reject deadline on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. ET. If the Blue Jays sign him, they would surrender their second- and fifth-highest draft picks plus $1 million of international bonus pool space.

Those are just the ancillary costs on top of the actual money they will owe Lowe. Nicholson-Smith predicted a three-year, $72-million deal with an AAV of $24 million. Not a horrible contract, but a lot of other moving parts to be considered.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. could be a fall back option if Blue Jays don't land Brandon Lowe

If the price is too high for Lowe, the Blue Jays have an alternative, and it comes from a division rival. The Yankees did not give Jazz Chisholm Jr. the $23.15-million qualifying offer, so he reached free agency with no draft pick compensation attached.

Like Lowe, Chisholm is a left-handed bat, which would add balance to a group of right-handed, middle of the order bats in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Kazuma Okamoto. He could also push Ernie Clement back into a super-utility role. GM Ross Atkins has already said Clement has to "earn every bit" of the second base job in 2027.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand named the Blue Jays as a landing spot for Chisholm, and Keegan Matheson wrote that his baserunning and above-average defence are a very "Blue Jays" profile, especially with the club planning to obsess over baserunning in 2027.

Chisholm is coming off a down year, but there is a lot to work with. After a 31-homer, 31-steal season in 2025, he hit .231/.312/.399 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI in 137 games in 2026. His .711 OPS was more than 100 points lower than his .813 OPS the year before.

He did steal a career-high 41 bases, and he ranked in the 98th percentile with 15 outs above average at second base. His 157 strikeouts were also a career high, which is why the Blue Jays would be betting on a rebound. At 28-years-old, the bounce-back case is easy to make.

Lowe isn't the only second base option, and the Yankees are going to be looking for a Chisholm replacement, which could, in fact, be Lowe. The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that New York could check in on Lowe and Luis Arraez, though nothing has been confirmed.

If the Blue Jays want Lowe, they may have to move quickly, and if they don't, Chisholm gives them a way to upgrade at second without getting into a bidding war over a player with a qualifying offer. Either way, it's a choice that could shape how the Blue Jays and Yankees line up in the AL East next season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow