Mariners win Polanco from Twins in 5-participant deal

SEATTLE — Now not since Robinson Canó have the Mariners had mighty clarity or reliability at second sinful, but they factor in they’ve landed a fixture for subsequent season and potentially beyond.

The membership on Monday bought swap-hitting veteran Jorge Polanco from the Twins in alternate for four gamers and cash.

TRADE DETAILS
Mariners receive: INF Jorge Polanco
Twins receive: RHP Justin Topa, RHP Anthony DeSclafani, OF Gabriel Gonzalez (No. 3 prospect, No. Seventy nine overall), RHP Darren Bowen (unranked prospect), cash

Polanco, 30, is due $10.5 million this season — after the Twins exercised a membership option — with a $12 million membership option against a $750,000 buyout for 2025, bringing the entire to $11,250,000 that the Mariners are on the hook for. It’s unclear what quantity of money Seattle is sending Minnesota, but that figure is to attend account for the $12 million owed to DeSclafani, who will most seemingly be a free agent at season’s slay.

Each the Mariners and Twins are under budgetary constraints this offseason and perceived to be strong alternate partners per each’s surplus of skill in direction of the assorted’s wants. However the must win an even-money subject used to be clear.

“I personally made extra calls on this alternate than I ever have on any alternate before on the behest of both my win must add [Polanco] and our community’s,” Mariners traditional manager Justin Hollander said.

Polanco had been the Twins’ iron man from 2019-21, enjoying almost each recreation as a fixture in direction of the pinnacle of the lineup, but lingering accidents held him attend in ‘22 and ‘23. Polanco missed the first three weeks of 2023 with left knee inflammation, then nearly two months from June into July with a left hamstring stress. He remained a productive cornerstone to the lineup when healthy, however.

“We did a truly thorough clinical review,” Hollander said. “I feel we realize what the accidents have been. One in every of the things that is wanted to us and used to be crucial to our practising crew is working out what form of worker ‘Polo’ is, and all of our solutions whether or no longer he works as exhausting as anybody.”

Polanco slashed .255/.335/.454 (.789 OPS) with 14 homers and 48 RBIs in 80 games remaining season, worth 1.5 Wins Above Changeper FanGraphs, in what amounted to roughly half a season. Also of display, he carried a 25.7% strikeout payment, which is on the greater slay for a crew explicitly attempting to within the reduction of down on its swing-and-omit.

For his profession, Polanco — who has trained with Julio Rodríguez in Tampa, Fla., the previous few offseasons — has hit .269/.334/.446 (.780 OPS) with 112 homers, 447 RBIs, 181 doubles, 20 triples, an 18.2% strikeout payment and a 8.6% stroll payment.

Polanco is a participant that Seattle’s front divulge of work has coveted for years, supplied that he hits from both aspect and may per chance maybe per chance play across the infield. The concept is for the 2019 All-Star to be the smartly-liked second baseman, but he also has 501 games of trip at shortstop and 24 at third sinful, giving manager Scott Servais masses of platoon alternate ideas to navigate a crowded infield.

The Mariners bought righty-hitting Luis Urías from Boston in November, and he’s anticipated to be their smartly-liked third baseman after the membership deal Eugenio Suárez to Arizona. Lefty-hitting Josh Rojas, bought within the Paul Sewald deal finally one year’s Substitute Closing date, and utility man Dylan Moore have been in line to platoon at second sinful before Monday’s alternate for Polanco.

That community will work with shortstop J.P. Crawford, who is coming off a profession one year, and first baseman Ty France, for whom the Mariners are banking on a massive rebound.

“It also offers us some injure security,” Hollander said. “We’re no longer as unhappy as you would be with an injure, bright that you just’ve gotten guys who have carried out loads, have trip and are successful gamers on appropriate groups.”

Monday’s alternate brings the Mariners’ topsy-turvy offseason closer to finality and additional explains the visions of Hollander and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who subtracted vital skill — but honest as mighty payroll — thru the Winter Conferences so as to clear capital to reinvest in varied offensive gamers.

Long previous are smartly-identified figures Suárez, Teoscar Hernández, José Caballero, Jarred Kelenic and Marco Gonzales, and in are Polanco, designated hitter Mitch Garver and outfielders Mitch Haniger and Luke Raley.

Notably, the Mariners retained young starting pitchers Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo no matter loads of calls on each while navigating their wants. But they’ll also must exchange the rotational depth that DeSclafani introduced and the late-innings leverage that they leaned heavily on Topa for.