Jorge Polanco Traded to Mariners
The Seattle Mariners swung a trade to acquire All-Star Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan was among the first to report. According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, the Twins will receive starter Anthony DeSclafani, reliever Justin Topa and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen.
Polanco, 30, joins a Mariners team in the hunt to return to the playoffs with stars Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raliegh, and Luis Castillo. The Mariners wanted to bolster the lineup by adding Polanco, and his offensive upside at second base.
He has battled injuries over the last two seasons with last season, only playing 80 games that allowed Edouard Julien to slug his way into becoming Polanco’s replacement in Minnesota. However, Polanco’s last healthy season in 152 games in 2021, batting .269 with 33 home runs and 98 RBIs.
In those 80 games, Polanco was productive, sporting a .255 average, 14 home runs, 55 RBIs and also contributed to the Twins’ return to the ALDS. Additionally, Polanco is signed through next season with a club option in 2025.
DeSclafani, 33, was part of a trade that sent Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants earlier this offseason. Now joining a rotation with Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober in Minnesota after the Twins lost Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray in free agency.
The Mariners have been making a lot of moves both on the trade and free-agent market, bringing in Mitch Garver, Luis Urias, Luke Raley and now Jorge Polanco to help address issues from last year. Seattle’s team, on paper, is looking more and more like a formidable group in the competitive AL West. The team is still connected to Washington native and 2-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
As of right now, Seattle gets their second baseman and productive bat in one move while the Twins add pitching depth and prospects. Though probably most important is opening up second base for Julien to be the future of the position.
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