Should the Twins bring back Jorge Polanco in free agency?

The Mariners declined Jorge Polanco’s $12 million club option for 2025 on Friday, making the former Twins infielder a free agent for the first time at age 31. He had a rough season in Seattle after being traded in a January deal that didn’t work out. out for both sides, as Justin Topa and Anthony DeSclafani were both injured for the Twins. Should Minnesota consider bringing him back this winter?

The argument in favor of a Twins reunion with Polanco is that he might not cost much and could have a good shot at a bounce-back year with the only MLB organization he’d ever known before 2024. The 2019 All-Star had a 111 OPS+ in over 800 games with the Twins, including a rating of 110 or better (100 is the league average) in every year from 2018-23 except for the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

It’s hard to believe that Polanco is suddenly the .213/.296/.355 bat (93 OPS+) he was in 118 games with the Mariners last season. Maybe that’s the case – his advanced contact statistics don’t paint the picture of someone who has been unlucky – but maybe not. Before last year, the switch-hitting infielder was a consistent bat-to-ball producer with above-average power. The 2019 juice ball season was far from Polanco’s only quality campaign; he hit .255 with 63 home runs in 336 regular season games from 2021-2023, for 30.4 home runs per 162 games.

As Eno Sarris noted, Polanco’s strikeout rate was a major issue during his tenure in Seattle, but there is a theory that hitters sometimes struggle because of the hitter’s eye on T-Mobile Park.

The argument against bringing Polanco back is that it would recycle someone who once had success with the Twins but may not be the same player he used to be. He’s a second baseman, and signing him would hinder Brooks Lee’s path to everyday at-bats. Lee struggled through 50 games as a rookie this year, but the 23-year-old remains one of the Twins’ top prospects and projects as a big part of their future if he achieves the way the organization thinks he will. Another top prospect, Luke Keaschall, could also be part of the mix at second base this season.

On the other hand, it could be argued that the Twins shouldn’t draft Lee as their starting 2B without competition as he has no track record of MLB success. They certainly can’t count on much from Edouard Julien after his struggles in 2024. And if they ultimately Trading someone like Willi Castro They may not have much depth in the offseason, especially considering how injury-prone Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa have been.

In a year where the Twins don’t have much money to spend due to self-imposed salary caps that aren’t expected to go away, Polanco could potentially be a useful buy low acquisition if he’s willing to return to Minnesota at a later date. pretty cheap deal.