Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco underwent surgical procedure to restore the patellar tendon in his left knee, stories Jeff Passan of ESPN. The infielder expects to be prepared by spring coaching. The Mariners can retain Polanco for 2025 by way of a $12MM membership choice with a $750K buyout. They’ll have till 5 days after the World Sequence to determine whether or not to select it up or not.
Polanco, 31, simply completed a tough marketing campaign. Acquired from the Twins going into the season, he bought into 118 video games however hit simply .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 video games as a Twin for a 111 wRC+.
Passan means that Polanco’s efficiency was impacted by the knee issues, significantly when hitting left-handed. The switch-hitter slashed .198/.301/.345 in opposition to righties this 12 months for a wRC+ of 91. That really wasn’t too far off from his right-handed manufacturing, largely on account of a giant distinction in his stroll price. He slashed .250/.285/.379 in opposition to lefties for a 94 wRC+. His batting common as a righty was much better however he solely walked 4.6% of the time. Since he walked in 11.8% of his plate appearances as a lefty, he made up a lot of the distinction by way of general manufacturing.
The knee subject didn’t come out of nowhere. He handled soreness in 2022, ultimately lacking the month of September whereas on the injured checklist on account of left knee irritation. However he nonetheless completed the season with a stable .235/.346/.405 slash line and 118 wRC+ in 104 video games.
The soreness was nonetheless there in March of 2023, so Polanco began the season on th IL. He was activated by the third week of April. He did return on the IL a few extra instances that 12 months, however each of these later stints have been on account of left hamstring strains. He bought into 80 video games final 12 months and produced a .255/.335/.454 line and 117 wRC+.
After these two seasons impacted by knee points, he was flipped to the Mariners forward of the 2024 season, with reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen going the opposite manner. Each golf equipment noticed their finish of that deal impacted by accidents. Topa solely made three appearances this 12 months on account of his personal left knee points whereas DeSclafani underwent flexor tendon surgical procedure and missed the entire season.
The Mariners are doubtless to purchase out Polanco on the heels of such a poor season, except they purchase into the narrative that his 2024 struggles have been fully brought on by the knee. If Polanco have been in a position to return to his pre-2024 type, he’d be well worth the funding, however the Mariners would possibly desire to maintain that powder dry till later within the winter. The payroll in Seattle is anticipated to climb however maybe not by a lot.
Even when Seattle is keen on bringing Polanco again for 2025, they may in all probability flip down the choice and re-sign him for lower than that choice value. They determine to have Josh Rojas at both second or third base however ought to be on the lookout for infield assist, both in free company or commerce.
If Polanco finally ends up on the open market, he’ll be part of a bunch of free agent second basemen that features Gleyber Torres, Jose Iglesias, Ha-Seong Kim, Amed Rosario, Whit Merrifield and others.