Seattle, WA
Drayer: Seattle Mariners weren't done – How Polanco addition fits
After the Seattle Mariners’ trades that brought in Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeScalfani and Luke Raley to the Seattle Mariners three weeks ago had been completed, there was a clear air of relief in a reply to a question posed to president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
Mariners Trade Breakdown: Who is new 2B Jorge Polanco?
“I feel like today is the first time all offseason that we can say if we were playing the opening day game tomorrow, we feel good about the team that we have,” Dipoto said in the media call later that Jan. 5 evening. “It’s a complete team.”
While some interpreted that as “the Mariners are done this winter,” in reality it was a statement of fact – and a significant accomplishment given the turn the offseason had taken early on, with Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander needing to subtract from the roster before they added due to financial constraints.
For the vast majority of the offseason there were missing pieces – vital pieces. And no, the plan was not to just fill them with utility players. Nonetheless, it was an uncomfortable place to be.
On Jan. 5, they felt they could at least field a good team with the numbers adding up at most positions, some via the platoon, but the hope was they could add.
The target: Jorge Polanco.
Mariners make trade with Twins for All-Star Jorge Polanco
“He’s a guy that we have liked and tried to acquire for years,” said Hollander. “I think I personally made more calls on this trade than I ever have on any trade before at the behest of both my own want to add him to our group, so a really big day for us. (I) feel like it makes us a lot better and excited to add him.”
The addition of the switch-hitting Polanco at second base will eliminate a planned platoon at that position, likely moving it to third base where the platoon can be better utilized with Luis Urías and Josh Rojas.
Instant Reaction: Drayer with Wyman and Bob on trade for Polanco
“The switch-hit is huge for us the way our team is constructed,” said Hollander. “To have a guy who’s platoon neutral who can hit in the middle of our lineup from either side is a big advantage for Scott (Servais) as he stacks the lineup up to be able to go left, right, switch.”
Polanco, who hit primarily in the top three spots of the order for the Twins in recent years, could slide into the No. 3 spot for the Mariners, solidifying the top of the order before mixing and matching through the middle. The addition gives length to the lineup, and it builds a stronger bench. One of Mitch Haniger, Dominic Canzone or Luke Raley will be available off the bench each night, plus utility player Dylan Moore, catcher Seby Zavala, and Rojas or Urías.
The addition did come at a price both in the immediate and perhaps future, though, with outfielder and top-100 prospect Gabriel Gonzalez and pitching prospect Darren Bowen included in the trade. Off the big league roster, the Mariners could afford to lose the recently acquired DeScalfani, but key reliever Justin Topa will need to be replaced.
“I definitely do want to take a moment to praise Topa on this call,” Hollander said to the media Monday night. “Justin Topa was awesome for us last year. From Day 1 of spring training, he showed up. He was open to coaching, he was open to new ideas, worked his butt off to make sure he stayed on the mound every day. He was available to us and got huge outs for us all year long. Topa was great, we’ll have to replace that. I think it most likely will be internally with a possibility, like always, that we could add externally as well.”
The bullpen does appear to be thin in established talent, but a strength of the Mariners in recent years has been in uncovering pitching gems. Is the next Topa or even Paul Sewald in the current group of spring training invitees? There are candidates with Jackson Kowar, Carlos Vargas and Prelander Berroa all possessing stuff, though none have yet put it together at the big league level.
Time will tell how it all shakes out, but on paper – multiple projection systems ranked the Mariners second in the division before Monday’s trade – this team is better than the team that finished last season.
Pitchers (and it’s very worth noting the starting five was kept intact) and catchers report to spring training in just over two weeks.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Mariners sign utility player who is married to Hollywood star
• Baseball America’s Glaser: Mariners prospect Emerson ‘on a rocket’
• Video: Grading Seattle Mariners’ offseason with Mike Salk and Shannon Drayer
• Close Look: Two Mariners legends set to enter Baseball Hall of Fame race
• The fun story of how Cal Raleigh heard about Haniger’s Seattle Mariners return
Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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