Mariners could let go of key trade acquisition as industry buzz grows

The end of the regular season means roster turnover. The Seattle Mariners are lucky to have only two impending free agents, so they can focus on signing or trading for improvements rather replacing departed players.

But the M's also have two players with contract options for the 2025 season. One of them is second baseman Jorge Polanco, who carries a $12 million club option.

Despite Polanco not officially being a free agent, he's begun to pop up in rumors as an available second baseman. The current media consensus is that the Mariners will not exercise his option because 2024 was one of the worst seasons of his career. NBC Sports recently got in on the discussion suggesting exactly that.

Seattle traded four players and cash considerations to the Twins in exchange for Polanco early in the 2024 offseason. He posted a .269/.334/.446 slash line and .780 OPS during his 10 years with the Twins, but the M's didn't get that level of offense from him.

Mariners may not take on Jorge Polanco's option for 2025 as free agency rumors spread

Polanco batted .213/.296/.355 with a .651 OPS in his first year with Seattle. T-Mobile Park is notoriously unfriendly to hitters and the 31-year-old may be able to adjust if the Mariners give him a chance for a second year, but his 137 strikeouts over 118 games certainly didn't help Seattle's struggling offense.

There are plenty of other available second basemen the Mariners could sign for 2025. Gleyber Torres, Brandon Drury and Whit Merrifield are a few options, but Drury's bat is notoriously underwhelming and Merrifield is coming off a down year. Torres' year started rough, but the last 30 games of his season were much better offensively — he's slashed .315/.371/.454 in his final month of regular season games and .271/.390/.396 in the postseason.

The Mariners could still choose to keep Polanco given his cost-effective salary and create less of a roster shuffle. After all, the Mariners already need a first baseman, a third baseman and bullpen help. Why add second base as another issue if it's not entirely imperative? Plus, if Seattle chooses to let Polanco go, he'll get a chance to post a rebound season elsewhere, and that would really have the front office kicking themselves.