Seattle Mariners Infielder Jorge Polanco Has Dealt With Knee Injury For Years
Back when the offseason began for the Seattle Mariners, the perception was the team needed a first, second and third baseman, respectively. The Mariners declined second baseman Jorge Polanco's $12 million club option and non-tendered third baseman Josh Rojas, further emphasizing those needs.
The Mariners ended up going back to the well and reunited with Polanco on a one-year, $7.75 million deal that has the potential to be worth more than $11 million with incentives.
Polanco had a down year in 2024. He was hampered with hamstring and knee injuries and hit .213 with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs in 118 games played.
Polanco underwent knee surgery in the offseason to repair a damaged patellar tendon. Seattle is clearly banking on Polanco having more left in the tank going into his 12th major league season. And if he's healthy, he might prove that assumption right.
Former big league reliever Trevor May went on the Foul Territory podcast with the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal on Jan. 31 and talked about the Mariners reuniting with Polanco. And according to Rosenthal, Polanco's knee was a problem long before he came to the Pacific Northwest:
"Polanco is a guy that they had last year, they liked," Rosenthal said. "He had knee surgery this offseason and he's now feeling better. Apparently that had bothered him for several years and really compromised him last year. He is healthy 100%, we wrote this about a week ago. And that alone encouraged the Mariners, the Astros and perhaps other teams to take a longer look at him."
The @Mariners have brought back Jorge Polanco 💰@IamTrevorMay and @Ken_Rosenthal break it down on #FTLive pic.twitter.com/Sz71cuctEb
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 31, 2025
If the knee injury was as persistent as Rosenthal said, it explains why Polanco has struggled to stay on the field (104 games played in 2022, 80 games played in 2023) and might make him one of the more probable bounce back candidates on the team.
The last play Polanco played a "healthy" season was 2021 with the Minnesota Twins. He hit .269 with 33 home runs and 98 RBIs in 152 games played and was named the Twins' MVP that season.
If Polanco is able to recapture a form closer to what he showed in 2021 compared to 2024, then the bottom half of Seattle's order will have significantly more power.
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