Boston Red Sox
Polanco was a key contributor for the Mariners in their ALCS run.
The Red Sox’ outline for free agency appears to be coming into shape a week ahead of the Winter Meetings.
On top of adding a top position player on the open market, the Red Sox are open to adding a complementary position player, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported. Speier mentioned that Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco could be a target as the complementary player the Red Sox would go after in free agency.
Polanco, 32, is coming off his best season in at least a few years. The switch-hitter posted a .265 batting average with a .821 OPS, 26 home runs, and 78 RBIs in 138 games. Polanco added three homers in the postseason, hitting .208 to help the Mariners reach the ALCS before losing to the Blue Jays in Game 7.
Prior to 2025, Polanco had shown promise when he was with the Twins between the 2019-21 seasons. He was named an All-Star in 2019, hitting .279 with 59 home runs in 360 games over that stretch. But he began to deal with injuries in the 2022 season, missing at least 40 games per year between the 2022-24 seasons as he dealt with back, knee, and hamstring ailments.
In terms of positional fit, Polanco has mostly spent the last few seasons at second base, but he’s played third as well. He’s also indicated that he’d be willing to play first base, Speier reported.
Most of the hitters the Red Sox have been linked to in free agency this offseason are right-handed bats. Boston would like to add a “big bat,” preferring righties over lefties, the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman reported earlier this week. Heyman added that the Red Sox would like to sign two of Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Kazuma Okamoto. Schwarber is the only lefty in that group.
Polanco has been a slightly better hitter on the left side of the plate in his career. He’s posted a .787 OPS as a left-handed hitter as opposed to a .737 OPS on the right side of the plate. But Polanco was better on the right side of the plate last year, logging a .308 batting average and a .896 OPS as a righty. He had a .254 batting average and .802 OPS as a left-handed hitter last season.
Both The Athletic and MLB Trade Rumors expect Polanco to receive a shorter-term deal with an average annual value shy of $20 million. The Athletic projects that Polanco will get a two-year, $35 million deal, while MLB Trade Rumors predicts that he’ll get a three-year, $42 million contract.
The Red Sox have roughly $225 million committed in payroll for the 2025 season, per Red Sox Payroll on X. That would put them $19 million shy of the luxury tax threshold.
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