Mariners President Just Signaled a Major Shift That Could Decide Jorge Polanco’s Entire Future in Seattle .MH
A second major reunion forthcoming?
Jorge Polanco’s second year with the Seattle Mariners was far better than the first, but was it so good that the two sides won’t be able to agree on a third?
Polanco put up a career-best 134 OPS+ in his 12th year in the big leagues, and he was a clutch monster for the Mariners in the playoffs as well. But after the Mariners made first baseman Josh Naylor their top priority, they’ll likely have to wait out the market for Polanco a while.
Not only is Polanco an enticing bat for the teams that miss out on the true big names in free agency, but he could be a prime target for small and medium-market teams who aren’t in on those names. However, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently named an obvious reason Polanco might be destined to return to Seattle.
Dipoto highlights familiarity in Seattle’s free agency
Last week, after first baseman Josh Naylor’s new deal with the Mariners was announced, Dipoto theorized that familiarity and comfort could come into play for Polanco in his free agency decision, much as it appeared to for Naylor.
“The guys who come here, the comfort that they feel, the environment that they’re in, I do believe that,” Dipoto said, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “I don’t want to speak for Jorge, but I think his experiences were similar to Josh.”
Kramer’s report on Polanco included tidbits that the Mariners were shifting their attention to the 32-year-old switch-hitter, but that a “more robust market” was expected this time around (which is fairly self-explanatory, given that Polanco doubled his WAR total from a year ago despite spending most of the season as the designated hitter). Plus, Kramer reported that some sources believed a two-year, $24 million deal could be in the ballpark of what it takes to sign him.
It’s worth monitoring which other teams get involved, but the Mariners are likely only going to lose Polanco if they don’t pay him what he feels he’s worth (which could be influenced by those other teams).
