Jorge Polanco injury update could explain 2024 struggles with Mariners

Seattle hasn't felt the regular presence of a good second baseman since Robinson Canó departed for the Mets in 2019. Dee Strange-Gordon, Abraham Toro, Adam Frazier, and Kolten Wong all disappointed in their own unique ways (mostly at the plate). Jorge Polanco had been consistently solid over the 3,529 plate appearances he had with the Minnesota Twins, and after a 2023 which saw him post a 114 OPS+, fans thought that the team was finally bringing stability to a gaping hole in the roster when they acquired him.

Unfortunately, reality is often disappointing, and Polanco's tenure was no different. He hit to a .566 OPS in the first half and began losing playing time to Dylan Moore, a career backup. He had a resurgence after the All-Star Break, but it wasn't enough to bring his season stats to a league-average level. He ended 2024 with a slash line of .213/.296/.355 with 11 doubles and 16 homers over 469 plate appearances.

Unlike his predecessors, however, Polanco may have a doctor's note to explain this slump. Jeff Passan revealed this week that he had undergone surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee, a nagging injury that had been hampering him all season.

Most notably, the injury was said to have affected his switch-hitting ability on the left side, as well as his lateral motion on defense. The numbers back up this claim as, prior to this season, his OPS from the left side had been .789 (.646 in 2024), and his -10 Outs Above Average in '24 marked the worst range factor he's had as a second baseman.

Mariners' Jorge Polanco can officially attribute struggles to injury after surprising surgery

Polanco is slated to be ready to start spring training with the team, but the bigger question is whether he'll be given the opportunity to try again with Seattle.

He has a relatively pricey $12 million team option, which is unjustifiable given what the team got from him on the field this year. That reality led Adam Jude of the Seattle Times to suspect that the Mariners will avoid that course of action. Furthermore, the Ms may look to simply reinvent the entire infield and start from scratch.

With a severe lack of impact middle infielders on the free agent market, and their best prospects still a few years away from making the big leagues, is that even a feasible plan for the organization? The only available free agent name that could potentially make a splash would be Brandon Lowe (assuming the Rays decline his team options), who hit to a 121 OPS+ with 19 doubles and 21 home runs for the Rays this season.

Perhaps the best path forward is to pursue a trade similar to the one that brought Polanco to the PNW in the first place. If that is the case, here's hoping that the results are different than what they were for him.