Brady's Spin: Why Are Seattle Mariners Willing to Play Jorge Polanco at Second Base Again?
SEATTLE - I'll be perfectly honest. When I saw Jorge Polanco shift over from third base to second base in the latter stages of Friday night's Seattle Mariners game against the Athletics, I was confused.
The Mariners re-signed Polanco in the offseason, saying immediately they would be moving him to third base. Part of that calculus was, reportedly, to help keep him healthier by limiting his movement.
Then, the Mariners spent all spring training trying to get Polanco more comfortable at third base. They cited his need for reps there. So, if all of that is true, then why was Polanco at second on Friday? Is this something we'll see more often, or was it a one-off?
Before Saturday's game against the Athletics, I had the opportunity to ask manager Dan Wilson about the situation, asking him the following:
"How do you balance trying to get him continued reps at comfort at third but also maybe exploiting his versatility at second?"
His answer:
It's easy to do when he goes back to second base, it's familiar with him, and he will take some reps there during practices and what not. So it's just a matter of continuing to get him the reps at third base. And, I think the second base comes a little bit more easily to him, but you can't say enough about how much he's working at it and how much he wants to be out there and how much work and dedication he has put into it. You know, first, just from coming back from the injury, and then secondly, learning a new position and putting all the time in and it's really paying off for him.
The Mariners will finish out the series with the Athletics on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT. They've dropped two of the first three games to start the year.
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