The Tampa Bay Rays pursued infielder Jorge Polanco in free agency before the veteran slugger signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets.
Pursuing Polanco shows that Rays ownership is willing to spend on free agents they deem worthy of adding to the roster. In Polanco’s case, he is an accomplished switch-hitter who can play all over the infield. It also shows that the Rays are looking to add more offense to their lineup or may be looking for potential replacements if they move forward with plans to trade Brandon Lowe and/or Yandy Diaz.
Polanco would also have addressed the Rays need for improvement against left-handed pitchers. Last season, the Rays recorded an 85 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, which placed them in the bottom third of the league; Polanco had a 150 wRC+ against LHP and has a 100 wRC+ against them throughout his career.
The now 32-year-old Polanco has been around for quite some time and made his big league debut in 2014 at the age of 20. During his career, which has been spent primarily with the Minnesota Twins, Polanco has hit .263/.330/.442 with 154 HR, registered a 112 wRC+ and accrued 18.3 fWAR. Most recently, Polanco spent the 2025 season with the Seattle Mariners, where he enjoyed the best offensive season of his career as he hit .265/.326/.495 with 26 HR, registering a 132 wRC+ and putting up 2.6 fWAR.
Unfortunately, the Rays will have to move on from Polanco and will look to address their offense in other ways. Perhaps via a trade for Ketel Marte, as was reported during the Winter Meetings, or possibly by adding a free agent who has not yet been publicly named.
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