On January 29th, 2024, the Seattle Mariners acquired Jorge Polanco for a four-player haul from the Minnesota Twins. Polanco was intended to bring a veteran presence to the lineup and solidify Seattle’s ongoing second base problem. Unfortunately, what followed wasn’t either of those.
Polanco struggled to adjust to life in the Pacific Northwest and dealt with a nagging knee injury that saw him miss close to the last 50 games of the season. Unfortunately for Polanco and Seattle, he had the worst year of his career. In 118 games, he slashed .213/.296/.355 with an OPS of .651, the lowest in his career. To make matters worse, he struck out 137 times, a career high. There are silver linings, however. Polanco didn’t lose much of his power, still finishing with 16 home runs. On top of that, he played a decent defensive second base. He finished the year with seven errors, lower than the average of 15-20, per Statcast and MLB. That’s also the lowest mark in his career when playing more than 100 games.
Mariners Star Jorge Polanco Will Try His Luck at Third
Polanco’s poor performances culminated in the Mariners declining his option for 2025, making him a free agent. Rumors circulated potential moves to the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, but on February 3rd, 2025, it was announced Polanco had re-signed with Seattle on a one-year deal.
What caught fans’ eyes regarding this move was the news that Polanco wouldn’t be returning to second base. He’d be playing a position that, until this coming 2025, he had 24 career games at. Jorge Polanco was announced as the Mariners’ new third baseman.
This is an interesting solution to an interesting problem for Seattle. They struggled with the absence of Eugenio Suárez and needed someone to step up. The Mariners find themselves with a second base curse. Everyone who has come in since Robinson Cano has struggled and ultimately been let go or moved on. Polanco is no exception to that. Another interesting thing to consider is that this will be Polanco’s second year with the Mariners. Seattle had a faux ‘win now’ mentality, where they let struggling players go early and didn’t give them time, i.e., Adam Frazier, Jesse Winker, Kolten Wong, etc.
Seattle clearly likes what they see with Polanco under fielding coach Perry Hill. Videos posted to X of Polanco taking reps at third base show him looking comfortable. Look for Polanco to return to Jorge Polanco in 2025.
