Insider Reveals What the Mariners Might Pay Jorge Polanco in Free Agency, and the Figure Surprises .MH
It will probably take a while, but…
After securing a big contract to lock up first baseman Josh Naylor, most indications have been that the Seattle Mariners are shifting their attention to Jorge Polanco.
Whether Polanco would play second base, third base, or designated hitter for next year’s Mariners team isn’t entirely clear. But he just had a fantastic season, punctuated by a career-high 134 OPS+, and Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said earlier this week that the two sides remain engaged on a possible new deal.
When both sides are interested, it almost always comes down to the money. So after he signed a very cheap deal last offseason coming off a bad year, how much more will it take for the Mariners to nab Polanco this time around?
On Saturday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported that there are some close to the situation who believe a two-year deal worth $24 million would be enough to make sure Polanco doesn’t wander elsewhere within the next couple of months.
“(Polanco is) said to be seeking a multiyear deal and for notably more than the number he declined. Some have speculated that a deal comparable to what the Mariners gave Mitch Garver two years ago (two years and $24 million) might be palatable for both parties.
“Yet, because the Hot Stove season hasn’t truly gotten into full swing — Naylor was the sport’s first notable free agent to sign, and even that was earlier than expected — any deal for Polanco, in Seattle or elsewhere, likely won’t materialize in the immediate future.”
That deal with Garver was obviously ill-fated, but it seems that it became something of a measuring stick for an offense-first veteran coming off a great year. Polanco isn’t coming off a World Series run, as Garver was, but he had more memorable postseason moments and a better regular season as well.
The main threats the Mariners could face, the longer Polanco remains unsigned, are teams pivoting to the 32-year-old switch-hitter after losing out on some of the bigger targets. Right now, they can’t foresee who those threats might be.
