The Twins trade Polanco to the Mariners as part of a five-player deal.
The Mariners haven’t had a clear or reliable second baseman since Robinson Canó, but they think they’ve found one for the following year and maybe even longer.
The team got Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins on Monday for four players and cash. Polanco is a veteran switch-hitter.
Polanco had an option worth $10.5 million that the Twins picked up this winter. His deal also involves a $12 million club grant for 2025.
A five-player trade took place between the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
Second baseman Jorge Polanco went to Seattle in exchange for outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani, and minor league pitcher Darren Bowen.
When the Mariners trade for the Twins, they also receive cash. The deal was made public by both teams on Monday night.
Polanco, a switch-hitter who is 30 years old, joins the Mariners, who have spent the winter looking for bats to go with their great starting pitchers.
In 10 years in the major leagues, Polanco was a consistently well-above-league-average hitter, slashing 269/.334/.446, and was named an All-Star in 2019.
He will likely hit in the middle of the Mariners’ lineup, which also includes Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Ty France, and two new players, Mitch Garver and Mitch Haniger.
Since they won the American League Central last year, Minnesota has spent a lot of the offseason trying to cut costs.
St. Louis signed Sonny Gray as a free agent after the Twins lost him. Gray finished second in the AL Cy Young voting.
You can also find starts Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle and reliever Emilio Pagan on other teams that have already left.
Before the deal, the only thing Minnesota did in the major leagues was pay $950,000 to sign reliever Josh Staumont.
Gonzalez, who is 20, is the most important player for Minnesota in the deal. He played both Single-A and High-A last season, alternating between the two levels.
He did well at Single-A (.348/.403/.530) but poorly at High-A (.215/.290/.387) in 181 at-bats. He’s almost a top-100 prospect, and his bat-to-ball skills are what make him stand out.
It was the 32-year-old Topa’s turn to do well in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners. Last year, he played in 75 games and had an ERA of 2.61.
In 69 innings, he struck out 61 batters and walked 18. His career fly ball rate stands at an impressive 56.5%.
DeSclafani was traded for a second time this winter, the first time being with Haniger in an arrangement that sent former Cy Young champion Robbie Ray to San Francisco. Part of DeSclafani’s $12 million salary is going to be covered by Mariners sending cash to Minnesota.
Last season, DeSclafani pitched 99≔ innings and had an earned run average of 4.88. He missed the last two months because of a flexor strain in the inside of his elbow.
Bowen, who is 23, was picked in the 13th round out of UNC-Pembroke in 2022. In his first minor league season, he went 55≔ innings and had an earned run average of 3.88.
After talking about it, two teams in the American League have agreed to trade. Infielder Jorge Polanco was traded between the Seattle Mariners as well as the Minnesota Twins. The trade was completed on Monday, and Polanco was sent to Seattle.
The Twins will get Gonzalez and Bowen as prospects, as well as starter Anthony DeSclafani and reliever Justin Topa.
Polanco, who is 30, hit 255/.335/.454 with 14 home runs in 80 games last season, but missed some time because of an injury.
“Jorge was someone we saw as a perfect fit for our team from the start of this offseason,” Mariners GM Justin Hollander said to a statement.
He’s known all over the league for being a hard worker and a good leader, and he’s a switch hitter with a long history of success. We’re thrilled about the chance to have someone with such a big impact join our team and clubhouse.
In the last five 162-game seasons, he has had at least a 110 OPS+, which means he has been at least 10% better than the league average when park and other factors are taken into account. Polanco has consistently been a better-than-average hitter for the past five years.
At the start of the offseason, we thought Polanco was one of the top 25 trade candidates in baseball.
Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis are younger and cheaper options for the Twins at second and third base, and they need help elsewhere on the team, so it makes sense to trade Polanco for more than one player. Minnesota is trading from a place of strength. This is the perfect baseball trade.