Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The infielder expects to be ready by spring training. The Mariners can retain Polanco for 2025 via a $12MM club option with a $750K buyout. They will have until five days after the World Series to decide whether to pick it up or not.
Polanco, 31, just finished a rough campaign. Acquired from the Twins going into the season, he got into 118 games but hit just .213/.296/.355 for a wRC+ of 92. That was a notable drop from his time in Minnesota, as he had hit .269/.334/.446 over his 823 games as a Twin for a 111 wRC+.
Passan suggests that Polanco’s performance was impacted by the knee problems, particularly when hitting left-handed. The switch-hitter slashed .198/.301/.345 against righties this year for a wRC+ of 91. That actually wasn’t too far off from his right-handed production, mostly due to a big difference in his walk rate. He slashed .250/.285/.379 against lefties for a 94 wRC+. His batting average as a righty was far better but he only walked 4.6% of the time. Since he walked in 11.8% of his plate appearances as a lefty, he made up most of the difference in terms of overall production.
The knee issue didn’t come out of nowhere. He dealt with soreness in 2022, eventually missing the month of September while on the injured list due to left knee inflammation. But he still finished the season with a solid .235/.346/.405 slash line and 118 wRC+ in 104 games.
The soreness was still there in March of 2023, so Polanco started the season on th IL. He was activated by the third week of April. He did go back on the IL a couple of more times that year, but both of those later stints were due to left hamstring strains. He got into 80 games last year and produced a .255/.335/.454 line and 117 wRC+.
After those two seasons impacted by knee issues, he was flipped to the Mariners ahead of the 2024 season, with reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen going the other way. Both clubs saw their end of that deal impacted by injuries. Topa only made three appearances this year due to his own left knee issues while DeSclafani underwent flexor tendon surgery and missed the whole season.
The Mariners are likely to buy out Polanco on the heels of such a poor season, unless they buy into the narrative that his 2024 struggles were completely caused by the knee. If Polanco were able to return to his pre-2024 form, he’d be worth the investment, but the Mariners might prefer to keep that powder dry until later in the winter. The payroll in Seattle is expected to climb but perhaps not by much.
Even if Seattle is interested in bringing Polanco back for 2025, they could probably turn down the option and re-sign him for less than that option price. They figure to have Josh Rojas at either second or third base but should be looking for infield help, either in free agency or trade.
If Polanco ends up on the open market, he’ll join a group of free agent second basemen that includes Gleyber Torres, Jose Iglesias, Ha-Seong Kim, Amed Rosario, Whit Merrifield and others.
TalkingBaseball
He’s gone, I don’t see the Mariners keeping him around at that price.
Lets Go DBacks
If Tim Anderson got 5MM, then 12MM for Polanco isn’t such a steep price.
Travis’ Wood
It’s a very steep price, he will 100% be cut, and tim anderson was vastly overpaid so that’s a terrible analogy. Otherwise great comment
King Floch
Polanco posted a .796 and 9.6 rWAR from 2021-2023, so while I do expect them to decline his option, I don’t think it’s completely out of the question that they would exercise it and hope for a rebound.
Travis’ Wood
It’s completely out of the question
bloomquist4hof
I really don’t see them doing that.
Stevil
I’m not so sure Rojas is even a lock for Seattle’s infield. He’s going to make 4-5m next year and he’s a replacement-level fielder with little power. He would be great in a utility role, but for a team with as many offensive issues as Seattle had, I would hope they look for upgrades at both second and third (and DH, backup catcher, fourth outfielder, bullpen…)
tacomarain
While I look forward to your off-season plan… I will say again that I do not expect the M’s FO to fill more than 3 holes… and those holes will probably be 2B or 3B, DH/1B and relief pitcher.
I fully expect one Mitch to be back… probably Haniger
I fully expect 2B or 3B to be filled by platoon of current roster players – namely 2 of Bliss, Dylan, Rojas or even (holding nose) Polanco.
The OF is filled – Julio, Victor, Randy, Raley and Dylan.
Back up C will probably be a waiver / min salary pick up.
I really hope I am WRONG!!!
seamaholic 2
Keep JRod, Raley, and Raleigh, and turn in all the other regulars for new blood. Given their farm and pitching depth, they’re one of the few teams that can pull that off in one off-season.
bastardsrus
I hope they resign him for $6-$8M for next season on a “prove it” contract. He’s no worse than the other free agents out there, and if I were him I’d want to come back to a team I know and who knows me instead of starting fresh on a new team and pushing it (and possibly getting injured again while attempting to prove it before he’s 100% ready). Comfort on a team and in a clubhouse is highly underrated, and some players just take a while to warm up to a new team/clubhouse.
I’d also love to see Ha-Seong Kim as a Mariner on a similar deal. If healthy, he’s a fantastic offensive player, and he could easily slot in at either 2nd, SS (if JP once again gets inured or underperforms), or possibly 3rd.
Everyone knows the M’s need a new 2nd and 3rd basemen, but as a lifelong M’s fan I know we won’t pay much for either of them. These two have high upside and won’t cost a ton. Everyone knows the M’s wont spend what’s necessary to win any more than the minimum they think it will take to get to the playoffs. Why would you want to shoot for the moon and miss and hit the stars when you ca shoot for the World Series and once again miss it by a game.
Hopefully these two players will help to get us to the 54% that we need to tie the Astro’s for 1st place and make the playoffs because we somehow once again win the regular season series (and yes, if you didn’t already know, the cheaters had the infamous 54% winning percentage, won the AL West, and made the playoffs this season just as Dipoto predicted).
I have low expectations, but out of the free agents available, these 2
bastardsrus
Sorry, got cut off!
Out of the free agents available, these two seem like the best candidates to fit the budget with the most offensive upside.
Lord knows none of these thoughts will matter because Dipoto will make some crazy trades no one would have thought possible and change everything.