Yankees Potential Free Agent Target: Jorge Polanco

11/12/2024 08:00 AM

A cheaper option to that of Gleyber Torres provides some intrigue.

It's sort of a general assumption that if the Yankees do in fact bring Juan Soto back, Gleyber Torres will likely be playing elsewhere in 2025, as this team already boasts a high payroll as is. It could turn out that they're both back, but one of the crucial aspects of this Yankees offseason is the thoroughness to work out different plans. Another specific point that should be addressed is whether this team's priority is to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second if Torres leaves. One way or another, there will be a place available for the addition of an infielder, and Jorge Polanco is an intriguing buy-low option.

Teoscar Hernández just had a career year with the Dodgers after leaving the Mariners, and while no one would claim Polanco is able to have that same impact, he wouldn't be the first established hitter to fall flat in Seattle only to regain some semblance of his previous form outside of T-Mobile Park. Jesse Winker is another example that comes to mind. According to Baseball Savant's Park Factor, Seattle is quite literally the worst place to hit in, and their recent offensive struggles back that up as well.

This is all a way to ease you into the fact Polanco had a career-worst .651 OPS in his one year with the Mariners in 2023, but that came after a prolonged sequence of consistent production as a Minnesota Twin. Between 2021 and 2023, Polanco was steadily one of the more reliable second baseman in the American League, peaking in 2021, his healthiest season in which Polanco got to 33 homers.

Interestingly enough, if you compare their career numbers, Polanco and Torres are very similar hitters. Now, Polanco doesn't carry the same perception as Torres, but over large enough samples, the numbers simply don't lie. Torres carries a career slash line of .265/.331/.441, and Polanco enters 2025 with a .263/.330/.435 line to his credit.

If you're asking me to pick one in a vacuum, Torres is the clear-cut choice, but this decision won't be made in that manner. While the Yankees didn't offer Torres a qualifying offer, the Mariners declined a $12 million team option in Polanco's contract with a $750k buyout, effectively choosing not to pay him $11.25 million coming off a down year. There is little to no doubt Torres will get a far more lucrative deal than Polanco.

Neither the third base nor the second market is really flushed with options and Chisholm showed he is more than capable of handling third on a full-time basis. Assessing a team that even if Juan Soto returns, still can't afford to lose the complementary depth it has, Polanco is as intriguing a cost-effective name as you'll find out there, almost assuredly set for a one-year deal regardless of where he lands.

Obviously, you can't just chalk everything up to his playing in Seattle, but it was most definitely a factor, and there is the question of how it affects his price as this team option would've been picked up without blinking had it come a year earlier. Polanco won't be the flashiest addition, but you should expect little of that outside of the Juan Soto department, and there is plenty of upside in bringing in the veteran second baseman.