ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays¡¯ first order of offseason business was a simple decision.

On Friday, Tampa Bay exercised slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe¡¯s $10.5 million club option for next season.

¡°We are appreciative of all of Brandon¡¯s achievements on and off the field during his time with the Rays,¡± president of baseball operations Erik Neander said in a statement announcing the move. ¡°Since debuting in 2018, his productivity at second base has been among the league¡¯s best, and we look forward to his continued success with us next season.¡±

Neander foreshadowed this decision at his end-of-season press conference on Oct. 4, making it sound like an easy call, especially considering the Rays¡¯ oft-stated need for more offense.

¡°We talked about the need to score more than 600 runs. He wasn¡¯t our problem,¡± Neander said. ¡°We appreciate him. We always have. I can at least speak to the fact that he¡¯s still here and he wasn¡¯t moved at the [Trade] Deadline -- and some established players were -- as some sort of indicator and action for just how we feel about him.¡±

Lowe, 30, has been limited by injuries the past three seasons, but he looked more like himself this year. Lowe slashed .244/.311/.473 with a team-leading 21 homers along with 19 doubles and 58 RBIs in 107 games, and he was named team MVP by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers¡¯ Association of America.

Lowe has been in the organization since the Rays selected him out of the University of Maryland in the third round of the 2015 Draft. He signed a six-year extension on March 20, 2019, a deal that included a pair of club options. His 2026 club option is for $11.5 million, with a $500,000 buyout.

At his best, Lowe has provided left-handed power like a down-ballot American League MVP candidate. That was the case throughout 2020 and ¡¯21, when he slashed a combined .253/.346/.532 with 53 home runs, 40 doubles, 136 RBIs and 7.0 WAR per Baseball Reference in 205 games. While battling back issues, Lowe was limited to 174 games and a 108 OPS+ in '22-23. But the Rays know as well as anyone what Lowe can do when he¡¯s healthy.

¡°When he¡¯s right, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anybody that¡¯s more talented playing second base that has the combination of the power and the defense that he¡¯s shown,¡± manager Kevin Cash said in September.

Lowe has accumulated six years and 58 days of Major League service time with Tampa Bay, the ninth most in franchise history. While continuing to give back to the community and climbing up the franchise¡¯s all-time offensive leaderboards in his seventh season with the Rays, he made it clear he wasn¡¯t ready to leave yet.

¡°People can always talk about [how] the grass is always greener somewhere else, but it¡¯s pretty green right here,¡± Lowe said in September. ¡°We¡¯re comfortable. We have a house here. My family¡¯s here. We¡¯re comfortable being here every day. We love the staff and love the people that are here.¡±

Lowe will be a key figure in a potentially crowded infield picture for the Rays next year.

Lowe has been a part of the Rays¡¯ DH rotation, and he played some first base when Yandy D¨ªaz was unavailable this year, but his primary position is second base. That is also where Tampa Bay must make an interesting decision this offseason with Christopher Morel.

After coming over in a Trade Deadline deal with the Cubs, Morel worked exclusively at second base for more than a month and split time there with Lowe. In September, the Rays gave Morel a look in left field, a spot that became available when Randy Arozarena was traded to the Mariners on July 26 and Richie Palacios (who can also play second base) was injured.

The Rays are seemingly set with Junior Caminero returning at third base and Taylor Walls at shortstop, plus American League stolen-base leader Jos¨¦ Caballero capable of playing anywhere. They will also have to determine where less proven infielders like Jonathan Aranda and Curtis Mead fit into their plans for next year.