By: Mahal Domingo-Anderson
If you have been following baseball since 2019, you have heard the name Jorge Polanco. Along with knowing that name, you also know the Mariners have had a rough situation at second base since Robinson Cano was traded away in December 2018. The Mariners have made their next and biggest shot at combating the black hole second base has been for now five seasons.
Prior to the 2023 season, the Mariners traded Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro away to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Kolten Wong. Wong had a solid track record before joining the Mariners. Wong has a WRC+ of 116 in 2022 and a WRC+ of 109 in 2021, both stats above average and led Wong to two seasons of 2.4 and 2.5 WAR, according to Fangraphs. The outlook was positive on a second base position that lacked consistency in 2022 for the Mariners. According to Fangraphs, Seattle got 1.3 WAR total in 2022, a terrible mark yet slightly better than the previous year. In 2021, according to Fangraphs, the Mariners got a total of 0.9 WAR from the second base position. It is a number that is utterly ridiculous for a team yearning for a postseason birth. In total, since the trade of Robinson Cano, the Mariners have gotten 5.7 WAR from second baseman, according to Fangraphs, and have had a WRC+ of 80. In that time, new Mariner Jorge Polanco had a 2021 season where he hit 33 home runs, had a WRC+ of 124, and a Fangraphs WAR of 4.2. Disregarding a 2019 season of juiced baseballs from the Mariners WAR mark of 5.7, Seattle has a WAR of 4.1. That is a mark less than Polanco had more than in one season. Since the beginning of the 2019 season, Polanco has racked up a total of 11.4 Fangraphs WAR. That total is exactly double what the Mariners have achieved in that time. All this is to say, the Seattle Mariners needed an established second baseman to fill that near supermassive black hole. Polanco will bring plate discipline to a team that struck out more than every team except Polanco’s former team, the Minnesota Twins. Alongside that plate discipline, Polanco brings pop to a Mariners lineup that, with the subtractions of Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suarez, and Teoscar Hernandez, badly needed some pop. According to ZiPS DC, Polanco is projected to hit 23 home runs, slash .256/.331/.444, have a WRC+ of 117, and rack up 3.1 WAR. Although Polanco does come with potential injury concerns, only playing in 184 games in total the last two years, Polanco is a massive addition to the Mariners lineup that was missing an infielder with a strong bat and track record.
To acquire Polanco, the Mariners had to give up valuable major and minor league assets. The Mariners sent relief pitch Justin Topa, a valuable man in the Mariners bullpen last season, racking up 3 saves and 23 holds in 69 innings. Topa is another subtraction to a Mariners bullpen and the first to the back end of the pen that included Paul Sewald, Andres Muñoz, Matt Brash, and Justin Topa before the deadline last season. However, it is not a move that anyone should be crushed about; a good bat for a good reliever is a trade you should make 10/10 times. Along with Topa, the Mariners gave away recently acquired starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani from the trade with Robbie Ray, also pitching prospect Darren Bowen, who had 59 strikeouts in 55.2 innings with Low-A Modesto last season, and lastly, the Mariners gave away outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is the best get for Minnesota. A top 100 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Gonzalez sped through Low-A Modesto, slashing .348/.403/.530 in 296 at-bats with 46 strikeouts to 23 walks. Unfortunately, after that blaze of fire, Gonzalez struggled brutally in High-A Everett, slashing .216/.290/.387 with 43 strikeouts in only 181 at-bats. Gonzalez is a good get for Minnesota, but with the abundance of young minor-league bats the Mariners have in their system, this should not sting especially badly.