Pirates Showing Interest in Mariners Second Baseman

Pittsburgh hit the least home runs in baseball last season at just 117, which was 31 home runs lower than the next team, the St. Louis Cardinals, who hit 148 home runs. The Pirates also posted the worst slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655) of any MLB team and scored the least amount of runs (583) and drove in the least RBIs (561).

Signing Polanco gives the Pirates an every day hitter that can play multiple infield roles, or even serve as the designated hitter, which he did last season. He is also a switch-hitter and would benefit as a left-handed batter on the Pirates, as PNC Park is more friendly towards power-hitting lefties.

The Pirates don't have a starter at designated hitter for next season, and with the future of Andrew McCutchen with the franchise uncertain, Polanco could take over in 2026. Polanco also has postseason experience, appearing in 24 playoff games in five postseasons, including 12 games with the Mariners in their run to the ALCS.

Will the Pirates Sign Polanco?

Polanco did undergo knee surgery after the 2024 season, after playing through a strained patellar tendon, which saw him have his worst MLB campaign, slashing .213/.296/.355 for an OPS of .651 and a career-worst 29.5% strikeout rate.

This limited him playing the infield for the Mariners last season, but the Pirates do have options in Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales and even Spencer Horwitz, who played a little at second base.

The Pirates are also considering calling up Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in baseball, and making him their starting shortstop in 2026.

This could give the Pirates an edge over other suitors, as they will likely have more interest in Polanco for his bat than just his fielding.

Pittsburgh notoriously has amongst the lowest payrolls in baseball, ranking in the lowest five teams for Opening Day payroll in 16 of the 19 seasons during owner Bob Nutting's tenure. The Pirates are showing signs they are interested in spending more this offseason, with the report from Rosnethal and Drellich, plus Jeff Passan of ESPN showing the same.

Other free agents the Pirates are linked with include Japanesse superstars in Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami, NL MVP finalist Kyle Schwarber, who hit 56 home runs in 2025, San Diego Padres slugger Ryan O'Hearn and New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

The Pirates will also work in the trade market, with Rosenthal and Drellich reporting their interest in Cardinals left-handed hitters in Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan.

Pittsburgh hasn't signed a free agent to a multi-year deal since right-handed starting pitcher Iván Nova for three-years, $26 million on Dec. 27, 2016 and the last position player free agent to a multi-year deal was John Jaso for two years, $8 million on Dec. 23, 2015.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke at the general manager meetings in Las Vegas two weeks ago and noted that they will act more "aggressively" in free agency and on the trade market, as they have more "flexibility" in recent seasons.

The Pirates should absolutely go after Polanco and players of his ilk, but fans won't truly care until they start signing those kinds of players.

Jorge Polanco Background

Polanco signed with the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent at just 16 years old in 2009, hailing from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic.

He made his debut with Minnesota in 2014, but played just nine total MLB games over the first two seasons of his career.

Polanco finally saw more playing time, appearing in 69 games with the Twins over two stints in 2016, then became a full-time member of the team starting with the 2017 season.

He served an 80-game suspension in 2018, after he tested positive for the performance enhancing-drug, stanozolol, that he said he never intentionally took.

Polanco signed a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension before the 2019 campaign, which ended up as his best in his career. He slashed .295/.356/.485 for an OPS of .841 over 153 games, with 186 hits, 40 doubles, seven triples, 22 home runs, 79 RBIs and 60 walks to 116 strikeouts. He earned an All-Star nod, the only one of his career, for his performances.

Polanco dealt with ankle surgeries after the 2020 and 2021 seasons, where hit a career-high 33 home runs, and spent two more seasons with the team after that.

He also led the Twins to their first postseason series win since 2002, as they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2023 American League Wild Card Series. The Twins traded Polanco to the Mariners on Jan. 29, 2024 for two pitchers, two prospects and cash.

Polanco had a down year in 2024, but rebounded in 2025, slashing .265/.326/.495 for an OPS of .821 in 138 games, with 125 hits, 30 doubles, the 26 home runs, 78 RBIs and 42 walks to 82 strikeouts.

He also played a role in the Mariners making the ALCS this season, hitting two solo home runs off of AL Cy Young Award winner in Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal in the 3-2 win in Game 2 of the ALDS, then hit the walk-off, RBI-single in the 15th inning of Game 5 to win the series.

Polanco has slashed .263/.330/.442 for an OPS of .772 in 1,088 games over his MLB career, with 1,063 hits, 222 doubles, 20 home runs, 154 home runs, 570 RBIs and 393 walks to 860 strikeouts.