Jorge Polanco’s season in New York is over, and the numbers tell the whole ugly story. After just 37 games, he’s headed for surgery on his left ankle following a long stretch dealing with Achilles bursitis. The line he leaves behind is rough enough on its own: .148/.201/.230 with two home runs and six RBIs.
For the Mariners, though, Polanco’s collapse with the Mets doesn’t change the bigger conclusion: Seattle was right not to meet the full price. The club tried to bring him back after he turned down his $6 million player option, and it even matched the Mets on contract length.
But it drew the line at the money, and that was the correct call. New York guaranteed him $40 million over two years, and that’s the kind of commitment Seattle refused to make to an aging hitter with a long lower-body injury history.
That said, the Mariners’ decision not to pay Polanco didn’t solve the real problem. It only avoided one bad contract.
Polanco had just given Seattle exactly what it wanted in 2025. He hit .265/.326/.495 with an .821 OPS, added 26 home runs and 78 RBIs, and delivered one of the biggest swings of the season: a 15th-inning walk-off single against Detroit that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS since 2001.
That’s what made the offseason so tricky. Seattle got the rebound year and the October moment. The Mets got the medical risk.
The Mariners still deserve credit for understanding their limits. They reportedly pursued Polanco before New York stepped in and pushed the market beyond where Seattle was willing to go.
But restraint only goes so far. Once Polanco was gone, the team still had to replace a switch-hitter who had just put 26 balls over the fence in the middle of a division-winning lineup.
And that’s where the offseason fell apart.
Brendan Donovan, Rob Refsnyder, and the organization’s reliance on young infielders Cole Young and Colt Emerson were all part of the answer, but none of it fully replaced Polanco’s production. Donovan brings contact and versatility, but not that kind of power.
Refsnyder was a platoon piece and is no longer on the roster. Young has been a bright spot, while Emerson is now on the IL.
At the same time, those younger players were still being asked to develop while helping carry a team that was supposed to contend.
Seattle ended up treating several partial fixes like one complete solution. That hasn’t worked out. The Mariners are 59-67 after a 22-0 loss to Milwaukee, the worst defeat in franchise history.
So yes, the Mariners were right about Polanco. They avoided a costly mistake.
But they still didn’t answer the larger question, and that’s the part that’s hard to ignore. Payroll flexibility doesn’t hit with runners in scoring position.
In Other News...
Cal Raleighs Collapse Has Mariners Fans Facing A Brutal Reality
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For Seattle, the issue is bigger than one players numbers, of course, but Raleighs collapse has helped define a lineup that has not produced enough to keep pace in the American League. The Mariners sit below .500 and outside the playoff picture, which makes every quiet night at the plate feel heavier. What happens next for Raleigh and the rest of the offense may determine whether this season is remembered as a temporary stumble or something far more frustrating. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Have Found A Needed Answer Against Lefties
The Mariners are taking a low-risk look at Andy Ibez, a veteran utility option they added on a minor-league contract after his release by the Mets. Ibez has spent six seasons in the majors with multiple clubs, and Seattle is sending him straight into the system with Triple-A Tacoma, where he wasted little time making an impression by going 4 for 8 with two doubles in his first two games.
For a Seattle roster that has been searching for more reliable production against left-handed pitching, Ibez is the sort of depth move that can quietly matter if it keeps carrying over. His versatility gives the club another option to evaluate, and Tacoma will now serve as the proving ground for whether the bat shows enough to push him back into the conversation at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]