If we threw a dart at the wall regarding bad David Stearns decisions this past year there would be a pretty big crowd of potential targets between poor performances, injuries and wasted money. We could single out any of them for further analysis but the one we’ll consider today is sub Mendoza recovering hitter Jorge Polanco.
Remember him?
Now to be fair, he fought off his share of injuries which not only kept him off the field but also impacted his ability to perform as expected. In 2025 he hit .261 with 26 HRs and 78 RBIs. While those numbers are pretty solid they are not exactly All Star worthy. Still, his positional versatility and long track record of decent hitting suggested that maybe obtaining him wasn’t completely idiotic, though to play first base regularly seemed pretty much an out in left field kind of decision.
Going into 2027 the poor contract gets worse. The paycheck jumps $6 million to $23 million for the year. If he wasn’t worth $17 million last year then who here votes that he’s a sure bet to make David Stearns look good on the upcoming $23 million burden?
The first question about Polanco, of course, is health. It is unfair to expect anyone to produce at career levels if they are not physically able. If indeed the medical staff proclaims the man fit to play 150 or more games for the upcoming season where does he play?
The original plan for him to man first base is still a possibility. No one knows defensively how well he would cope there and the worry still remains that he is a fragile player prone to missing extended periods of time on the IL He is a switch hitter which means traditional platooning doesn’t immediately fit. The Jared Young believers want him to get a significant amount of playing time but his resume suggests that 2026 may have been an outlier.
Designated Hitter is another possibility which would remove the physical strain of playing the field in a defensive position. Given how little the Mets have ever gotten out of the DH position it is a distinctly reasonable thought that a 2025-like Polanco would be a nice fit there. Again, being a switch hitter he would be expected to play nearly every day.
Another option for Polanco is to lean on his 420 career games played as a second baseman. Obviously there are more competence than health issues with incumbent Marcus Semien. He’s being paid even more money than the 2027 Polanco, but at some point you have to swallow bad investments and many advocate the Mets do just that. Could Polanco be a second baseman next to Francisco Lindor and whomever mans first base? That position would seem to be more physically demanding than would first base but it could temporarily solve a glaring need in the Mets lineup.
Right now the prospect of flushing away the bad contracts from the just concluded season does not seem to apply conveniently to Polanco. Consequently if he’ going to be on the roster you need to figure out what to do with him. Having a $23 million bench player is not smart but then having a $26 million one in Semien isn’t either.
The question really is "if you have someone on your roster that is owed a shiteload of money still and sucks, do you cut him now or keep him on the roster out of embarrassment and take away a slot from a prospect?
ReplyDeleteIt’s also embarrassing to see them sit or not perform every single stinking day of the 6 month season.
DeleteI’m not entirely sure which of these awful
Scenarios is worse from the teams perspective.
Cut & forget - that’s what I say - especially if the team is building for long term growth, but it’s not my call.
Avoiding embarrassment is not a relevant baseball consideration. Both Semien and Polanco are way overpriced and actual and potential underperformers an block potential players who cost less and play better. Those are baseball considerations. To me a lot hnges on what Bichette does. If he opts in that genuinely reduces the opportunities for players ready or near ready who are MUCH better team DNA fits in Voit, Petri and Rojas. All. very inexpensive and all offer more versatility and defensive prowess and health than either Semien or Polanco. The issue is how to relieve youself of most of their contracts. I am in favor of drawing the line on the past and continuing to introduce players into a good clubhouse who are good fits for the team's established DNA. If you want to know how little value the market assigns to Polanco and Semien just see what it will cost you to trade them and what, if anything you can get in return.
ReplyDeleteI would never agree to a long-term contract again for an aging player unless I had a team opt-out after the first year. I want an option to get out of these if THEY fail, not me.
DeleteThere was a reason that Seattle moved Polanco to a DH position the year before the trade. He has lost the quickness needed to play up the middle. Unfortunately, he has absolutely no relevant experience at first base, so he would be mediocre there at best. If he cannot become a healthy DH, then he has no role on this team. That becomes the decision point for the front office.
ReplyDeletei want to remind people how important healthy feet are to hitting, no matter what biomechanical theory you rely on: stability only or recruiting energy through the ground and ground force reactions. And other than achilelles which is and ankle injury not a foot really, fascia injuries are the worst. So i would be VERY surprised to see Polanco able to perform to his previous standard next year. I also pointed to semien's heavily curled lumbar spine as a barrier to rotational speed and a potential source of injury. These are not things you want to see in players who are getting older. There is virtually no chance of bounce back seaasons from either so they are additions by subtraction and absolutely necessary if you want to compete.
ReplyDeleteTry playing third base with bum or slow feet
Delete