The Mets placed DH and first baseman Jorge Polanco on the 10-day IL with left ankle bursitis on Wednesday, but his stay will be longer than that: according to interim manager Andy Green, Polanco will undergo season-ending ankle surgery soon.
Green, speaking to the Associated Press before the Mets and Padres play in their series finale on Wednesday, explained that, “It’s gotten to the point where he just can’t get freedom from the pain. He has gone out there and grinded. He’s wanted to post for his team. And it’s at a point now where surgery is actually his best option and that’s the direction we’re headed with this to kind of alleviate this.”
Polanco’s first season with the Mets has been as disastrous as its end. Polanco signed a two-year, $40 million deal as a free agent this past offseason, after seemingly rebounding from a down 2024 with a strong follow-up campaign with the Mariners, in which he hit .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs, the second-most he has hit in a season. And all of that despite Seattle’s T-Mobile Park being a tough place for right-handed power hitters like Polanco.
He would play in just 14 games for New York before landing on the IL with a wrist contusion that cost him 83 days of the season. Polanco batted all of .179/.246/.286 before the IL stint, and did not return to the lineup until July 7. Polanco’s line only suffered further after his reactivation: from July 7 onward, the 33-year-old veteran batted just .127/.169/.190 with one home run and three extra-base hits total in 23 games and 84 plate appearances.
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Despite the limited playing time, Polanco was rated as worth -1.4 wins above replacement by both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs – a designated hitter who does not hit is not going to perform well in WAR calculations. He was limited to DH for the most part because of bursitis in his Achilles tendon that cropped up in April, and did not fully heal during his extended IL stint for his wrist. While Green explained to the Associated Press that the Achilles is no longer an issue at the time of this most recent IL placement, the ankle itself is still a problem in need of surgical intervention, and that the myriad injuries were messing with his swing mechanics.
“Just my observation from seeing him through the years and watching him hit and watching him produce, I do think it has affected him mechanically. I don’t think he’s one to make excuses, so I’m not sure if he’ll even say that. But I do think it is something that has impacted him. And he’s tried to grind and it’s just not happening.”
Following surgery, Polanco is expected to be ready for spring training in February of 2027. He’s set to be paid the remaining $23 million of his $40 million deal next season.
Outfielder and DH Christopher Morel, who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, is expected to receive the bulk of Polanco’s expected at-bats. Infielder Eric Wagaman was promoted to take Polanco’s roster spot.
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