Mariners' offseason steal has totally flatlined during two-week disaster

The Seattle Mariners have been having a devil of a time putting runs on the board over the last couple of weeks. And while the reasons for this are many, it is getting increasingly difficult to ignore what they aren't getting from Jorge Polanco.

"Cold" doesn't even begin to describe the temperature of the veteran's bat. It's more like "Vostok weather station-cold." He is just 1-for-31 in 10 games since May 20 and more than a month removed from his last multi-hit game on April 29.

The situation is frankly getting uncomfortable, as the 31-year-old is looking less like a huge offseason steal for Jerry Dipoto and more like a liability in the lineup.

Jorge Polanco's slump is ruining what had been a huge offseason win for the Mariners

It didn't seem like cause to celebrate when the Mariners re-signed Polanco as a free agent in February. Sure, his $7.75 million deal denoted a nice bit of savings on the $12 million the Mariners would have paid him in 2025 if they'd exercised his option. But they did not do that precisely because he did not earn that kind of treatment.

Though the one-time All-Star did get his bat going in the second half of 2024, he still ended up with a career-low .651 OPS and just 16 home runs. He promptly had surgery on his left knee, rendering him a reclamation project as he set out onto the free-agent market.

All this looked like water under the bridge as soon as Polanco started swinging the bat. He was hot during spring training and even hotter in March and April, notably providing a game-winning homer on Opening Day and ultimately entering May with a 1.226 OPS and nine home runs. He was as hot as any Mariners hitter had ever been.

That never was going to be sustainable, of course. And even as it was happening, it didn't really feel sustainable.

The switch-hitter was still having soreness in his left knee, after all, and a separate issue with his side left him unable to bat right-handed. He needed to have not-infrequent days off in April. And even now, he's only taken 16 trips to the plate as a right-handed batter.

After Polanco demolished fastballs in April with a .925 SLG and seven of his homers, it's no surprise that his rate of fastballs declined from 47.9 to 40.2 percent in May. He also hit a ton more ground balls, with his GB% rising from 30.8 to 54.4.

His overall numbers (i.e., .801 OPS and 10 HR) still look good, but his continued presence in the No. 2 hole in the lineup is a case of wishful thinking on the part of manager Dan Wilson and the brass in the front office. At the very least, the Mariners need to move Polanco down to the bottom of the order until [crosses fingers] he starts hitting again.

In the event that Polanco continues to not hit, the Mariners are going to be in a difficult spot with him.

The experiment of using him as a third baseman isn't so much paused as over, and the Mariners don't seem overly willing to use him at his more customary spot at second base. Besides, both positions are in the hands of promising rookies in Ben Williamson and the newly promoted Cole Young. The DH spot is therefore the only viable place to put Polanco, and right now he's threatening to become the most useless of MLB players: a designated hitter who can't hit.

It's way too soon to begin pondering the Mariners admitting defeat and moving on from Polanco. He at least continued to hit the ball hard in May, posting an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph and solid hard hit rate of 43.9 percent.

The Mariners can only afford to be so patient, however. With the offense struggling as much as it has of late, Polanco getting hot again should be the only thing that can keep Dipoto from looking around for other options ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.