The New York Mets have begun to move to try to heal the wounds caused by the departures of Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, signed by the Orioles and Dodgers, respectively, after several years of brilliance in the Big Apple. As a damage control measure, Steve Cohen and David Stearn’s management made a first major signing on Saturday, adding another Dominican bat to accompany Juan Soto.
The New Yorkers agreed to sign the infielder Jorge Polanco for two seasons and $40 million, a left-handed hitter who in 2025 hit 26 home runs and left an OPS of .821 with the Mariners.
The 32-year-old switch hitter has 12 years of MLB experience between Minnesota and Seattle. In that span, he has posted a consistent offensive line of .263/.330/.442/.771 with 154 home runs, 570 RBIs, 550 runs scored, 1,063 hits and 222 doubles.
His name was one of the most mentioned in the 2025 postseason, especially in the Division Series between the Mariners and the Tigers. In the second game of that duel, he hit a pair of home runs against the stellar Tarik Skubal, and in the fifth, he decided the game with a single in the ninth inning to send his team to the Championship Series.
In the American League pennant discussion, he drove in a pair of runs in the first game against the Blue Jays and also hit a key home run in the second game.
A wild card for the Mets
According to Jon Heyman, the Mets will mostly use Jorge Polanco as a first baseman, a defensive position that is not very familiar to him. The Dominican has only played one game as a first baseman in the Major Leagues, where he has mostly played as a shortstop and second baseman.
However, those two positions are covered by the Mets with Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor and newcomer Marcus Semien, whose services they obtained in the trade for Brandon Nimmo. The other option for Polanco is third base, but it is assumed that Mark Vientos will start at third base.
The other option is for Steve Cohen and David Stearns to continue exploring free agency in search of a power-hitting third baseman, considering that there are still interesting options available. The names of Eugenio Suarez, Alex Bregman and Japan’s Munetaka Murakami, all available on the market, are names that are currently being linked to the Mets, who are looking to further consolidate their roster after the sporting failure of 2025.
Polanco’s addition guarantees flexibility for the Mets’ infield and offers more depth and experience to the offensive order. His best season was in 2021, when he hit 33 home runs and drove in 98 runs for the Twins. In 2019, with 22 homers and 79 RBIs, he was selected to the All-Star Game.
Read the full article here
