The Mariners’ surprise reunion with Jorge Polanco is really paying off

When the Seattle Mariners re-signed Jorge Polanco in February, it caught many by surprise – and wasn’t exactly met with enthusiasm.

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Polanco was the Mariners’ big trade acquisition a year prior, but his 2024 campaign was by and large a disappointment, making it more or less assumed he would continue his career in 2025 in a different uniform.

It’s understandable if that all sounds a bit foreign now.

Polanco has been one of more steady producers this season for the Mariners, and he’s recently picked up steam again at the plate.

Entering Thursday, he’s running an eight-game hitting streak and a five-game extra-base hit streak. In his last 20 games, he’s slashed .358/.400/.731 for a 1.131 OPS with six home runs, seven doubles, 15 RBIs and six walks to 12 strikeouts. That’s raised his season average from .242 on Aug. 16 to .261, and his OPS on the year from .744 to .807.

Polanco is also fourth on the Mariners with 24 homers, and his tying RBI double in the 11th inning Wednesday was key in helping Seattle cap a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals for their fifth straight win.

Got it right back! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/HZfuot88op

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 11, 2025

It’s to the point now with Polanco that there’s hope he picks up a player option (which recently vested) to stay under contract with Seattle next year.

On the latest edition of The Dugout on Seattle Sports, Mariners insider Shannon Drayer put Polanco’s 2025 season into perspective, pointing out that not only has he produced lately, but his contributions early in the season are proving to be important now as the M’s find themselves in a tight playoff race.

“(Polanco) was just invaluable in the month of April,” Drayer said. “He’s the one who drove this thing offensively the first month of the season. I’ll always say nothing is real in April, be it good or bad… because you aren’t what you are in April, but even saying all that, they needed those wins. Look where they’re at right now, and he provided that offense.”

Perhaps just as important, by reuniting with Polanco, Seattle prevented him from possibly going to the AL West rival Houston Astros, who reportedly showed interest in him in free agency. The Astros (79-67) are just a game ahead of the Mariners (78-68) for the division lead, while the M’s are 1 1/2 games of fellow division rival Texas (77-70) for the American League’s third and final wild card.

The real Jorge Polanco

Polanco began the year on a tear, slashing .395/.434/.816 for a 1.250 OPS with nine homers, five doubles, 25 RBIs and five walks to nine strikeouts over his first 24 games. The switch-hitting second baseman did that even though an oblique strain limited in him the first month of the season to playing mostly designated hitter and swinging just from the left side.

In between his two hot stretches, there were some scuffles in the middle of the season. But as Drayer pointed out, the key difference between his 2024, when he was dealing with a knee injury that was not disclosed at the time, and this season is how he responded.

“What we saw last year is that when he got into some trouble at the plate, when he was going through a struggle, he didn’t figure it out, he didn’t come out of it,” Drayer said. “And that very well may have been the knee, or at least partly the knee. And he did say early this season, I really feel like I have my legs finally, (and) he was able to pull out of the struggle.

“He did have a month, month and a half of a pretty non-productive period at the plate for him, but he came back and now we are seeing what we saw in April from him.”

Polanco also gives the Mariners an even-keel presence in the dugout and clubhouse, Drayer said.

“I think he brings so much in his steadiness, both as a hitter and not straying too far from what he does and not panicking when it goes wrong for him. And that’s the teammate he is, as well,” she said. “He is probably, if you look across that team, the most even-heartbeat player you have on offense. As far as your hitters go, that’s him.

“He absolutely has a drive, and it’s funny when you talk to him about doing things well, he has a little bit of a look of, well, of course I am. I’m Jorge Polanco. This is what I do at the plate, you know?”

In his second year with the Mariners, the version of Polanco they expected in 2024 has emerged, and that has made a difference.

“They are getting the best of him right now,” Drayer said. “It’s been huge for this team, start to finish.”

Catch The Dugout from 1-2 p.m. Tuesdays during the baseball season on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays).

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