Mariners Notebook: Jorge Polanco returns; catcher prospect gets shot

Mar 3, 2025, 3:38 PM

Mariners Insider, Seattle Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. – Coming off offseason knee surgery, Jorge Polanco made his first appearance in a spring game Monday as the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-2 in Peoria. It was not, however, at third base.

Salk’s Takeaways: How Mariners look after a week in Arizona

Rather than play the position he is transitioning to and expected to take the majority of at-bats at this season, Polanco went up to the plate twice as the designated hitter.

“He’s been progressing as we have wanted him to,” manager Dan Wilson said. “He has really put in a lot of time and a lot of rehab to get to be where he is. There will be some DH days but we also want to get him ready for third base, and that’s coming.”

Polanco, who went 0 for 2 in his first spring action, has been participating in infield drills and wall work with infield coach Perry Hill each morning. Stepping up to game speed will be the next step.

Cal Raleigh got some extra at-bats replacing Polanco at DH in the fifth inning, he and made the most of his first swing against Paul Sewald with his first home run of the spring.

Watch: Cal’s first spring HR comes against old friend Sewald

The Mariners have their first off day of Cactus League play Tuesday and return to action Wednesday with a game against the Royals in Surprise, the first of three straight night games.

Ford’s step forward

Wilson, a former Mariners All-Star catcher, was impressed with prospect Harry Ford catching Logan Gilbert for the first time Sunday against the Rockies.

“It was really outstanding,” Wilson said Monday. “To catch Logan is a difficult task. It went very, very smoothly. Harry has put in a lot of work and to have it come to fruition yesterday, to get Logan through the three innings he worked, it was a sight to see and really a feather in Harry’s cap. I know Logan appreciated it as well. It all went very smoothly and I think it was a big step forward for Harry in that way.”

Ford, Seattle’s No. 6 prospect and the No. 95 overall prospect per Baseball American, finished 2024 at Double-A Arkansas and found catching Gilbert to be an enjoyable experience.

“It was probably one of the easiest things I have done because he was so on point,” Ford told Rick Rizzs. “He dominated every pitch, he had all his stuff working. He threw his slider and his curveball, his fastball wherever and however he wanted to so he made it real easy on me. I just pressed the buttons, but it was real fun.”

Notes

• The Mariners have temporarily re-slotted the rotation coming off the off day. Bryce Miller will now start Wednesday against the Royals and George Kirby has been pushed to Friday against the Dodgers.

• Right-handed reliever Troy Taylor, who was called up late last year and quickly made his way up the leverage scale in the bullpen, has been out of action since suffering a lat strain in early February but is now scheduled to throw a bullpen Friday. The plan is to start him light and keep the velocity around 80 mph in his first session.