BREAKING: Mets sign Jorge Polanco to two-year, $40M contract
New York's intriguing offseason continues with a surprising move on the infield.
A fascinating, franchise-changing week for the New York Mets continues to take unexpected twists and turns.
On Saturday morning, New York reportedly came to an agreement to sign veteran infielder Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million contract as first reported by Will Sammon.
According to Jeff Passan, Polanco is expected to primarily play first base and DH for the club next season.
The 31-year-old infielder had one of the most productive years at the plate this past season, hitting 265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs, 78 RBI, 30 doubles, a 132 wRC+, .821 OPS and a 2.6 fWAR in 138 games with the Mariners.
Polanco did only appear in 138 games for Seattle this past season after dealing with inflammation and soreness in his right knee in April and then again in September – it’s the most games he’s appeared in since playing in 152 games during the 2021 season.
This has turned into a very interesting and, to this point, confusing offseason for the Mets, and the move to acquire Polanco certainly adds to that confusion over what plan this organization actually has here.
Following the move to acquire Marcus Semien a few weeks ago, it would stand to reason that the Mets likely wouldn’t be looking for any more middle infield help, so Polanco appeared to be a player that the club would likely no longer be showing any interest in.
But, according to that Passan report, the Mets seem as if they’re keen on having Polanco spend a majority of his time playing first base next season… which just adds to the curiosity of this decision.
Polanco was an adequate defender at second base (-2 OAA) and third base (-2 OAA) this past season, but he has made zero career appearances at first base in the major leagues to this point. And while one may hope that a solid infielder could adapt and be serviceable at first base, it’s not exactly the move I would have come to expect from a team that has been using “run prevention” as their new slogan for the past three months.
Polanco adds a solid bat to the lineup and now gives New York another switch-hitter which could prove to be valuable, but in a week where the club said goodbye to Edwin Díaz, Pete Alonso and Tyler Rogers – and lost out on Kyle Scwharber and Robert Suárez – the question remains… what is this team trying to be in 2026?
Time will tell…
Curious, indeed. Like we needed another 2nd baseman. As you point out, it's pretty odd the Mets are sure he'll be adequate playing first. Very unimpressive signing. Better than nothing, I guess.
Okay. Looks like they are still in the market for short-term deals.
This generously might make sense when there are minor leaguers in the wings. Other times, it looks like they are shopping at the discount store. We saw that with the pitching the last couple of years (making Montas even more stupid).
Also, I think we are going to see some more trades to clear some IFs.