Jorge Polanco's contract demands bring Mariners face-to-face with a red line

It isn't surprising that the Seattle Mariners haven't re-signed Jorge Polanco yet. Whereas they had a more than receptive partner in their negotiations with Josh Naylor, Polanco has always seemed more open to leaving Seattle if the money is right.

And now, courtesy of Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, we have an idea of what kind of deal could lure Polanco away from the Pacific Northwest. Citing multiple sources, Divish reported on Monday that the veteran switch-hitter seeks a deal of at least three years at $12 million per year. Preferably, he'd get a four-year deal.

This is not an unreasonable ask for Polanco and his Octagon representatives. He had a track record as an above-average offensive performer heading into 2025, and then he went off for a career-year marked by a 134 OPS+, 26 home runs, 30 doubles and a whole bunch of clutch knocks, both in the regular season and the postseason. The time to cash in is now.

Jorge Polanco shows Mariners where the red line is with his contract demands

As far as the Mariners are concerned, there's just one problem. Per Divish, the team's preference is something more like a two-year deal with an option for a third year. And frankly, that level of caution makes sense.

At 32 years old, Polanco is at that age where even great hitters can reach the end of their primes and then fall off a cliff. A good example is Nolan Arenado, who had an MVP-caliber season at age-31 in 2022, and has since slipped to merely average territory with a 101 OPS+ for the last three seasons.

It was also just last year that Polanco endured a lost season because of injuries, subsequently having surgery on his left knee early in the offseason. It's otherwise hard to pin down his home on defense. He spent most of 2025 as the Mariners' designated hitter, not getting regular action at second base until the end of the year. Otherwise, he might be a candidate to play first base or third base going forward.

The Mariners also have to be mindful of not putting Polanco in the way of the next generation. After graduating Ben Williamson and Cole Young to the majors in 2025, Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo are on deck for 2026. Williamson, Young, Emerson and Arroyo are all prospective starters on the infield, and Montes will be a candidate for DH at-bats alongside Cal Raleigh, who can't catch every day.

Simultaneously, of course, the Mariners can't act like having Polanco back is more of a want than a need. Their lineup does look shorthanded without him in it, particularly once you notice Young at second base and Dominic Canzone at DH. Young is the kind of guy who needs to earn a job. And as good as Canzone was for the Mariners for the better part of this summer, he's also a platoon type whose bat went deathly cold in October.

It's a dilemma, alright. The Mariners need to have Polanco back, but somehow, some way, it needs to be on their terms, even if it means sweetening a shorter deal with a higher average annual value. Not to pat ourselves on the back or anything — narrator: they are — but the club's sudden interest in Ketel Marte looks even more like a smokescreen right now.

If the Mariners have two advantages with Polanco, they're familiarity and a wide-open contention window. And these may well be difference-makers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that Polanco "values comfort and winning."

Polanco may have to settle for less either way. If he doesn't take a richer deal from a non-contender, he may have to accept a smaller deal to continue living and chasing Ws in Seattle.