Here's Why The Seattle Mariners Are Moving Jorge Polanco to Third Base
The Seattle Mariners roster is effectively set 10 days out of Spring Training. And it will feature a familiar face who will be in an unfamiliar position.
Near the end of January, the Mariners reacquired 2024 starting second baseman Jorge Polanco on a one-year, $7.75 million deal with the potential to be worth more than $11 million with incentives. The news of the signing came with the additional bit of information that Polanco would be moving to third base for 2025.
The latter bit of news came as a shock. Polanco has only played 180 innings in his 12-year career at third. He's also coming off knee surgery to repair a damaged patellar tendon, which apparently had bother him for years according to a report from the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
With the move, Seattle will handle second base in-house. And Seattle Sports reporter Shannon Drayer talked about why the Mariners chose to move Polanco over to the hot corner.
According to Drayer, the move will be easier on Polanco's legs and he won't be tasked with turning as many double plays. It will also allow 2024 Gold Glove winner Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss to focus on second base, which is their best positions.
Getting a lot of questions about the Polanco to 3B move. It should be easier on his legs range-wise and also won’t have to turn the double play. Moves Moore to 2B -his best position- likely same for Bliss.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) January 31, 2025
The odds are likely that Moore and Bliss will be the pair who receives the most time at second. But Leo Rivas and Cole Young will both also have an opportunity to compete for the second base job.
Ryan Bliss was two different stories at the plate in 2024 for Seattle
— Kick Dirt Baseball (@KickDirtBB) December 28, 2024
vs Pitch Type
Breaking: .350 BA, .650 SLG, 5 K
Fastball: .194 BA, .355 SLG, 10 K
Offspeed: .083 BA, .083 SLG, 7 K
Had a 27.7% Whiff rate vs FB in AAA pic.twitter.com/izEogsYZHf
With Polanco at third and Luke Raley and Donovan Solano taking the reps at first, Seattle has just second base to sort out. And Spring Training will be critical to find out who will be the best in that slot.
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