Josh Lowe’s return has impacted the Rays plenty, and in numerous ways

TAMPA — How much can one guy really impact a major-league team?Bat four or five times a game and get on base a couple. Catch a few fly balls, maybe make a throw or two. Say a handful of words of advice or inspiration to a teammate on occasion.Yet, in the two-plus weeks since he returned from an oblique injury, Josh Lowe has made a massive difference to the Rays.“To speak on what Josh has meant to get back in the lineup, it’s hard to find the right words and not talk for like an hour on it,” veteran second baseman Brandon Lowe said. “You can’t narrow it down to, like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s good to just have his bat back.’ Because it’s his bat, the presence on the basepaths, the defense and just having him around in the clubhouse and how he is with everybody in here.“So, it’s a complete player to have back. And it’s incredible to have.”After a rough 16-21 start to the season, the Rays started to show glimpses of better play. Since Josh Lowe returned on May 15, it has been a flashing neon sign, with a 10-4 stretch and a rise above .500 entering Saturday’s game at Houston.“It’s not by coincidence that we’re getting on a little run against good teams,” hitting coach Chad Mottola said. Lowe, 27, has done his part since his return, hitting .286 with an .821 OPS, swatting two homers, scoring 10 runs (while driving in three), stealing two bases and making a couple of key plays in rightfield.More important, he is not trying to do too much.Lowe learned from last year, when a hip issue and an oblique strain forced him to miss the first six weeks, then two more starting in late May of what devolved into a lost season. It was all the more disappointing and frustrating following his breakout performance in 2023.So when this season started ominously — a winter of hard work and a promising spring showing wiped out by an oblique strain in his second opening-day at-bat — Lowe knew not to try to make up for the lost time.“Last year, I’d say I learned from that, really,” he said. “I talk about that a lot, learning from failures, learning from situations. For me, it’s not going to do any good. It’s just going to add more pressure to yourself and it’s going to maybe make things snowball, whereas now it’s just, like, let’s really take it one day at a time.“I know I missed a month and a half, and it’s not great. But it is what it is. Let’s be where my feet are. And do what I can do today to help the team win.”It has shown in different ways.• There is his talent, particularly his combination of speed and power. That was most evident in 2023, when he posted a .292 average, 20 homers, 33 doubles, 83 RBIs, 32 steals (in 35 chances) and an .835 OPS. (Only Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr., who won the National League MVP award, beat that combination of numbers.)• There is his experience (good and bad), plus a high baseball IQ and the benefits of lineage — his older brother, Nate, plays for the Nationals — that he is willing to share.“He’s a guy that has a track record of having some success,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Josh comes in with a mindset of having a lot of big league at-bats (1,052 before Friday) that he knows how (pitchers) are going to approach him. And I think it helps some of the young guys. I see him having a lot of conversations before games, in-game, talking to some of our left-hand hitters.”• There is the way Lowe changes the look of the Rays lineup with the potential for a top five, in whatever order, of him, Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero. “You’re able to really lengthen the lineup,” starter Zack Littell said. “It’s crazy how one guy can kind of do that. It’s one less soft spot, and then all of a sudden, with the bottom half of your lineup (with Danny Jansen, Kameron Misner and others) it’s really solid.“So, aside from the natural talent he has, it’s more about what it does to our lineup overall and our ability to go out there and kind of grind pitchers down. So, it’s been awesome to watch.”Added Cash, “It’s put some challenges at the top of our lineup. When you look at our top five right now, what they’re capable of and when they’re right, it can be a pretty potent top five.”• And, most important according to some Rays, there are the intangibles Lowe brings with him to the field, clubhouse, and everywhere else.“It’s not necessarily just everything that Josh does on the field really well,” starter Ryan Pepiot said. “It’s just having the guy back in the clubhouse, just having that kind of an impact. The veteran presence who’s been around, knows how to do everything, goes about his business the right way, works hard, can help (the young guys).”Mottola said there have been several games where he has seen Lowe talking with other hitters, from rookies like Misner and Chandler Simpson ( who was optioned back to Triple-A Durham on Friday) to veterans such as Brandon Lowe.“It’s just the interactions that happen behind the scenes more than anything,” Mottola said. “That B-Lowe and (Josh Lowe) talk the way that you can discuss pitchers they’ve seen previously. So, just having a familiar voice is probably just as important as the play on the field.”That seems to flow throughout the clubhouse.“He’s someone that you always want to be around,” said starter Drew Rasmussen. “A great guy and a great teammate,” added Littell.Mottola stops short of using the L-word: “I don’t want to put the ‘leadership’ brand on anybody, but it’s just more being the glue that’s bringing everybody together.”Lowe, a 2016 first-round pick, said he’s willing to help as a leader, a listener or however else.“I definitely take pride in that,” he said, noting that while not the oldest player on the team, only Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda (who both joined in 2015) have been in the organization longer. “I try and be the same person every single day. That’s one of my biggest goals, to not let what happens on the field affect how I act off of the field. I know how hard the game is. I know how fun and rewarding it is being at the top of the game in terms of success. And I also know how humbling the game is being at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to failure. ‘So, bringing that attitude of being levelheaded and just consistent every single day is something that I kind of take pride in and to be an outlet for people to talk to no matter what’s going on."So yes, Mottola concluded, “absolutely one guy can make a difference.”• • • Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook .

Josh Lowe’s return has impacted the Rays plenty, and in numerous ways

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