Morosi: What the Mariners’ reunion with Polanco says about offense

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi talked to Wyman and Bob on Wednesday for the first time since the Seattle Mariners reunited with infielder Jorge Polanco last week, and his initial comment was a pretty good encapsulation of the general reaction to the surprise move.

“I did not think he would go back to Seattle,” Morosi said to open his weekly conversation with the Seattle Sports afternoon show.

Polanco was the Mariners’ key offseason addition essentially a year to the date before he re-signed, but his 2024 season did not go as planned, and it seemed like his time in Seattle would be over after just the one season. The one-time All-Star struggled with lower-body injuries, which resulted in a .213/.296./355 slash line for a career-worst .651 OPS in 118 games.

He is back, though, and things are different this time around. The 31-year-old Polanco underwent knee surgery in October, is moving from second base to third base, and isn’t expected to be the Mariners’ No. 3 hitter. Also, by returning on a one-year deal with a reported $7 million salary, he comes at a reduced rate compared to the $12 million team option Seattle declined at the beginning of the offseason.

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Morosi mentioned that the Mariners weren’t the only team reportedly interested in Polanco and said he thinks the reunion is “not a bad risk.”

“I think that there’s a reason why there were some pretty significant teams that were on Polanco – the Astros liked him, the Yankees I was told liked him as well,” Morosi said. “… Do I believe that Polanco can be a better player in ’25 than he was in ’24? I do. I actually think that he will be a better player this year than he was last year.

“… He’s someone they’ve clearly liked in the past, and they get him at a bit of a discount because of the poor season he had. They believe in the medical underpinnings here that he is going to be a better and more durable player. It’s actually not a bad risk at this point in time when you consider what the price point is, what the assignment is from the offensive profile.”

Does it help the Mariners’ offense enough?

Polanco returning to the fold has potential, but Morosi pointed out that Seattle’s lineup was already banking on a few other players in their 30s bouncing back.

“This is a plan that involves a fair amount of hope, and… ‘this plan involves a fair amount of hope’ may well describe a lot of what the Mariners are doing in 2025,” he said. “(Donovan) Solano, who’s an older player, maybe he finds it for one more year. And maybe Polanco bounces back. There’s a lot of hope – and some projection – but you’re also expecting that (Mitch) Garver bounces back, you’re expecting that (Mitch) Haniger bounces back.

“… The question is, is the totality of the offense good enough for that all to carry the day and to put this team in the playoffs? I think that is the major unknown.”

Why Seattle Mariners’ reunion with Polanco gives Salk pause

The Mariners have pointed to the team’s success in the final month of the 2024 season after Dan Wilson became manager and Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez took over as interim hitting coach as why they believe they can be better in 2025. Wilson is back and Martinez now oversees the team’s offensive plan as the senior director of hitting strategy, and the team also will have major trade deadline pickup Randy Arozarena for his first full season in a Mariners uniform.

Morosi shared his perspective.

“In fairness… they scored the most runs in the American League after Sept. 1 this past year. We’ve always heard the stories about not basing too much of your analysis on September baseball, but they scored the most runs in the American League for a month at the end when Arozarena was there, when more of the team was healthy and productive.

“So they’re basically saying, Polanco’s gonna come back and be a better version of Polanco, we believe Garver and Haniger can be better, and then Solano as kind of more of a contact-oriented player fills the role that (Justin) Turner had. … They’ve changed a few pieces, but this is not transformative change. If you were a Mariner fan in the early days of November saying this team needs fundamental change to be able to compete with the Astros in the American League West, if that was your belief, you obviously are very unfulfilled right now.”

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi joins Wyman and Bob weekly, typically at 5 p.m. each Wednesday. Hear this week’s conversation in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post, and catch Wyman and Bob from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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