Fastball

Former Minnesota Twins All-Star Hits Free Agent Market After New Team Declines Option

The former Minnesota fan favorite will head to the open market.

Brady Farkas

Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco (7) prepares to bat against the Oakland Athletics in the eighth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sept 2.
Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco (7) prepares to bat against the Oakland Athletics in the eighth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sept 2. / Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
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Former Minnesota Twins All-Star Jorge Polanco is headed to the free agent market after having his team option declined by the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners announced the move on social media:

Roster moves:

The @Mariners have declined the 2025 club option on INF Jorge Polanco.
INF Luis Urías cleared waivers and has elected free agency.

Seattle's 40-man roster is now at 36 players.

Polanco had been due $12 million in 2025. The Twins traded Polanco to Seattle last offseason in a deal that hasn't yet worked out for either team.

The Twins acquired starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, who missed the entire year with injury. They also acquired reliever Justin Topa, who also missed most of the year with injury. He made just three appearances. The Twins also got two prospects, including Gabriel Gonzalez, who have yet to debut.

With Seattle, Polanco hit just .213 as he battled knee problems which eventually required early offseason surgery. He had 16 homers and 45 RBI to go along with a .296 on-base percentage. He had just a 93 OPS+, suggesting he was a below average player for Seattle.

He spent the first 10 years of his career with the Twins, making the All-Star Game in 2019. With Minnesota, he was a .269 lifetime hitter who popped 128 home runs. He had a career-high 33 homers back in 2021 and also had 98 RBI then.

Given his prior track record and hopeful good health, Polanco should have no problem finding a major league opportunity in 2025.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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