Mets halt ex-Mariners slugger Jorge Polanco’s rehab assignment

Jorge Polanco, who spent the previous two seasons in Seattle, has played just 14 games this year.

Jun 7, 2026, 10:56 AM

Former Seattle Mariners Jorge Polanco looks on Mets 2026...

Former Seattle Mariners slugger Jorge Polanco looks on during a 2026 game with the Mets. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — New York Mets first baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco’s minor league rehab assignment was halted Saturday because of ankle soreness.

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Polanco, who spent the past two seasons with the Seattle Mariners before signing a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets this past December, will return to New York for further evaluation.

The 32-year-old Polanco has been sidelined since mid-April with left Achilles bursitis. He has been playing rehab games in the minors recently, and the Mets initially indicated he might come off the injured list and rejoin the team this weekend in San Diego.

That timeline was pushed back, but Polanco was supposed to play Saturday for Triple-A Syracuse before getting scratched.

“We felt like we needed to continue to build him up,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said before his team’s 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Saturday.

The club wants Polanco to be able to reach certain thresholds before activating him.

“Four at-bats as a DH, seven innings on defense, at least,” Mendoza said. “We won’t see him here in San Diego.”

In his first season with the Mets, Polanco has batted .179 with one homer, two RBIs and a .532 OPS in 14 games before landing on the 10-day injured list April 18, retroactive to April 15, with a bruised right wrist. But it’s the Achilles bursitis that has been bothering him since very early in the season that is still keeping him on the IL.

Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.

But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back on a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.

Polanco then signed with the Mets as a free agent this past offseason to replace Pete Alonso at first base and potentially serve as the team’s designated hitter on occasion.

Polanco began his rehab assignment May 27 and played three games at Double-A Binghamton before playing three more with Syracuse. He was 2 for 12 overall with a home run, three RBIs and five walks.

Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.

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