The Seattle Mariners had made it pretty clear that they wanted to bring back Jorge Polanco in free agency.
That hasn't happened, though. Polanco is going to the New York Mets.
News emerged Saturday morning of Polanco's departure from the Pacific Northwest to go to Queens.
The deal is for two years and $40 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
It's a tough loss for Seattle.
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Why did the Mariners let Jorge Polanco leave for Mets?
The price has to be the first part of this list.
A $20 million per year value on Polanco is quite high. Seattle had paid him closer to $6 million per year the last couple seasons.
There also is legitimate fear of regression here.
Polanco had a great 2025 season. But he hadn't been close to that good in 2022, 2023 or 2024.
His defensive abilities have declined pretty rapidly. If he was only going to be a DH or a poor fielder, then his bat would have to keep up.
And if there was any concern his bat would fall closer to those past levels rather than the 2025 performance, it'd make him quite overpaid.
The Mariners may have to find a replacement, but they've got plenty of money in their pockets to do that since they didn't have to pay Polanco that much.
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