The Mariners have plenty of problems right now, and after that record-setting 22-0 loss to the Brewers, optimism is in short supply. Still, even in a rough season, Seattle has at least one reason to feel a little better about how the offseason played out: Jorge Polanco is no longer in the clubhouse.
That wasn’t always the feeling around the organization. After last season, Mariners players were reportedly pushing for Polanco to come back to the Pacific Northwest.
And it made sense. Despite an injury-hit 2024, Polanco answered in 2025 with 26 home runs and a 132 wRC+ while handling most of the designated hitter work for Seattle.
He was a real part of the lineup during the club’s postseason push, enough that he was viewed as part of the group the Mariners wanted to keep together heading into 2026.
Instead, Polanco took a different route in December 2025, leaving Seattle for the Mets on a two-year, $40 million contract. The move also put him closer to his father, which made the decision easier to understand on a personal level. But from Seattle’s side, losing him looked like a painful hit to an offense already carrying a lot of uncertainty.
That has changed fast.
Polanco has not come close to matching his 2025 output in New York. In fact, he has been one of the least productive players in baseball, sitting at the very bottom of the league in WAR. Among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, his batting average is somehow lower than Cal Raleigh’s, and his wRC+ has slipped below Rob Refsnyder’s.
Embarrassing? Absolutely.
As embarrassing as getting shut out 22-0? Debatable.
Any hope that he might steady things later disappeared as the season wore on. An ankle/Achilles problem limited him to 37 games before he was shut down for the rest of the year.
Mets interim manager Andy Green said Polanco will have season-ending surgery on his left ankle. He finishes the season with a .148/.201/.230 slash line after dealing with wrist and ankle injuries that kept piling up.
The expectation is that Polanco should be ready to hit again by the start of spring training, but even that leaves a big question hanging over New York: will the Mets ever get the 2025 version of Jorge Bonds that Seattle depended on so heavily?
For the Mariners, though, the answer to the immediate question is easier. They may have wanted Polanco back, but watching the Mets commit $40 million to a player who couldn’t stay healthy and now won’t even finish the season makes the decision to let him walk look a lot cleaner in hindsight. On a brutal night and in a brutal stretch, that counts as something.
In Other News...
Mariners Were Right On Jorge Polanco But One Lineup Failure Remains
Jorge Polancos first season with the Mets never really got off the ground, and now the early exit has only sharpened the look back at Seattles decision not to chase the same deal. After the Mariners had him in 2025 and saw him deliver a strong season, Polanco declined his $6 million player option and drew interest on the market before landing in New York, where the contract guaranteed enough money to make Seattle step aside.
For the Mariners, the more pressing issue is what came after. They have not found a clean way to replace the production Polanco provided, and that hole has been part of the drag on a team that has slipped into a losing record. The front office can feel vindicated about the risk it avoided, but the lineup still has to answer the bigger question of who fills that spot and whether the offense can keep pace without it. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Raleighs Collapse Has Mariners Fans Facing A Brutal Reality
Cal Raleighs season has become one of the clearest symbols of how hard things have gone for the Mariners at the plate. The Seattle catcher is hitting .156 over a heavy workload of plate appearances, a line that has drawn uncomfortable comparisons to Joe Gerhardts notoriously rough 1885 season. Raleigh has owned the slump and accepted responsibility as the offense has sputtered around him, a candid response from a player usually asked to steady the middle of the lineup and the pitching staff behind the plate.
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 🡒]