Healthy (and newlywed) Lowe eyes bounceback in 2025

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- If you see Josh Lowe practicing in the infield this spring, no, he¡¯s not changing positions. He wasn¡¯t struck by some sudden desire to become a third baseman, like he was when the Rays drafted him nine years ago.

Coming off a season that was delayed and derailed by injuries, Lowe just wants to feel athletic -- and he wants to maintain that feeling all year.

¡°My body¡¯s able to move the way I want it to move now,¡± Lowe said. ¡°And I just feel the freedom I¡¯ve had in years past.¡±

That should bode well for Lowe and the Rays, who are counting on their 27-year-old right fielder to bounce back in a big way and build on what he did during a stellar 2023 season. For all the bounce-back and breakthrough candidates in Tampa Bay¡¯s lineup, Lowe stands out as one of the most important.

¡°Josh needs to go out and have a good camp -- not for me, but for himself, to feel good about himself,¡± manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°He knows the type of player that he is and, when he's right, how he can impact this team.¡±

Put simply, Lowe wasn¡¯t right last year, and he couldn¡¯t make the impact he wanted. He went from posting 3.7 bWAR two years ago to 0.7 WAR last year, a drop-off caused mostly by injuries.

Last offseason, Lowe was bothered by a left hip issue that flared up after Spring Training games began. He was shut down during camp due to left hip inflammation, sustained a right oblique strain when he was nearly back from that injury, then had his season debut pushed back again to May 6 due to right hamstring tightness. Less than a month later, he was back on the injured list with a recurrence of his oblique injury.

Lowe still managed to play 106 games and steal 25 bases, but his performance wasn¡¯t the same. His slash line dropped from .292/.335/.500 to .241/.302/.391. He went from 20 homers to 10, from 33 doubles to 19 and from 83 RBIs to 34.

A year ago, Lowe entered Spring Training saying he was determined to be even better than he was in 2023. His sense of motivation hasn¡¯t changed.

¡°First and foremost, the goal in the offseason was to get healthy so stuff like that didn't happen,¡± he said. ¡°Did a pretty good job doing that, but I'm as motivated as ever to get back on the field and help the team win -- and being healthy is a big part of that going forward.¡±

Looking back at the end of last year, Lowe realized he¡¯d changed the way he played due to his various injuries. It wasn¡¯t that he was playing hurt, but it was difficult to rediscover his swing when he was physically compromised.

¡°Nobody knows your body like you do. So as soon as the year was over, it was a matter of kind of working on things that I need to do to get healthy and to stay strong all year long,¡± he said. ¡°I felt like I was swinging a different way, protecting my oblique or whatnot.

¡°But [now], I feel great, and I feel like I can move freely and move how my body is supposed to move.¡±

In addition to his usual offseason training, Lowe said he visited a few other rehab-type facilities to strengthen his core, lower back and hips. He reported to Charlotte Sports Park for Spring Training saying he felt great, aside from a recent bout with food poisoning. In Lowe's early batting practice and cage work, hitting coach Chad Mottola said Lowe ¡°looks like two years ago.¡±

Or, as Cash put it: ¡°Seeing him walk around with a smile on his face is a good sign.¡±

¡°He just looks like the talented, athletic player that he is. I know he¡¯s motivated to come in here and have a healthy camp,¡± Cash added. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see him put too much pressure [on himself by thinking] that he¡¯s got to come out and get four hits in two at-bats. We want him to find a way to be healthy throughout and trust that his ability and athleticism will help us this season a lot.¡±

Of course, getting healthy wasn¡¯t the highlight of Lowe¡¯s offseason. It was getting married. He and his wife, Anna, celebrated with 218 guests -- including at least 20 current and former Rays teammates -- in January, about two months after his brother, Nathaniel, got married.

¡°It was a great offseason,¡± Lowe said.

In more ways than one.