Free Agent Profile: Jorge Polanco, INF

Jorge Polanco, INF

Position: 2B, SS B/T: S/R
Age: 31 (7/5/1993)

2024 Traditional Stats: 16 HR, 45 RBI, .213/.296/.355/.651, 4 SB, 43 R, 469 PA
2024 Advanced Stats: 0.3 fWAR, 93 OPS+, 92 wRC+, 29.2 SO%, 9.8 BB%, .274 BABIP, .311 xwOBA

Rundown

Jorge Polanco was traded to the Mariners last winter after a 10-year run in Minnesota that included an All-Star appearance, a 40-double season (2019) and a 33-homer campaign (2021). By many measures, he had the worst year of his career with his new team.

Polanco struck out a career-high 137 times, his OPS was a career-worst and down 138 points from 2023, and he grounded into 16 double plays. His defense fell off, too, with his outs above average at negative-10, a career worst for him at second base.

It’s unclear if he was playing hurt. Still, he had surgery in October to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee and expects to be ready for baseball activities in January.

But even at his worst, he hit 16 home runs, good for eighth among MLB second basemen, one more than Gleyber Torresand only four fewer than Jose Altuve (who had 211 more at-bats). The power was still there. He has hit 79 home runs in his last four seasons.

The Twins signed Polanco as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2009 and debuted in 2014 but didn’t see any significant playing time until 2016. That year, he posted a .757 OPS in 270 plate appearances and made 60 starts, mostly at shortstop.

He was the Twins’ regular at short from 2017-2020, with his best year coming in 2019 when he got the All-Star nod, finished 13th in MVP voting, and smacked 69 extra-base hits.

Polanco moved to second base in 2021 when the Twins signed free agent Andrelton Simmons, a defensive wizard at short. He played second predominantly ever since – that was all he played with the Mariners – though he did log 15 games at third in 2023.

His career slash line is .263/.330/.435/.765, covering 3,998 plate appearances.

Contract

The Mariners declined a $12 million club option for 2025, so Polanco received a $750,000 buyout. The Astros are reportedly interested. Given his age, disappointing 2024 and knee surgery, a one-year deal seems likely.

Recommendation

The Mets signed a 30-something who could play three infield positions last December, and OMG, that went better than anyone could have imagined. I like that Polanco is a switch-hitter with pop (and I will forgive him if he doesn’t have a pop hit up his sleeve), and defensive versatility is always good. Despite his awful 2024, I like him in a reserve role if he gets a clean bill of health. He would also be good insurance if Jeff McNeil struggles like he did in the first half of 2024.

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