As soon as the Seattle Mariners struck for the first major deal of the winter by re-signing Josh Naylor for $92.5 million over five years, the next shoe to drop was obvious. It had to be Jorge Polanco’s turn. Simply had to be, right?
That was the vibe coming from the organization in mid-November, yet there was a catch even then: Even if a deal with Polanco did prove to be the next shoe to drop, that didn’t necessarily mean it would happen soon.
It’s a couple weeks later, but it still seems as if now is not the time for breath-holding. The latest Mariners intel from Adam Jude of The Seattle Times is littered with tasty nuggets, yet the Polanco-specific stuff is liable to leave a bad taste in mouths across the Pacific Northwest.
New Mariners intel will not reassure fans waiting for a Jorge Polanco reunion
The Mariners haven’t been coy about wanting to make Polanco their next free-agent signee. He fits them perfectly as someone who can play on the right side of the infield and at DH, and that switch-hitting bat of his sure did damage this year. His 134 OPS+ was a career best, and he was the top clutch hitter in MLB even before he racked up several huge hits in October.
Top Plays of 2025: No. 48
Jorge Polanco walks it off in the 15th inning to send the @Mariners to the ALCS! pic.twitter.com/B8qs6lhDoV
— MLB (@MLB) November 26, 2025
Jude writes that a return to Seattle “is believed to be Polanco’s preference, too.” And yet: “The two sides, though, do not appear to be close to a deal.”
Jude further cites sources claiming that Polanco is looking for a multi-year deal, and notes that he’s been connected to big spenders like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, plus one purportedly aggressive small-market club in the Pittsburgh Pirates.
All of this maps onto aspects of Polanco’s free agency that we’ve already covered, namely that he’s determined to get paid and that big spenders loom as threats to snatch him from the Mariners. Yet even if the situation is more or less status quo, this is a case where no news is not good news.
If nothing else, you wonder if the ship has already sailed on the Mariners doing a club-friendly deal with Polanco. They miraculously did so with Naylor, but the market has since leaned player-friendly. Dylan Cease, Ryan Helsley and Cody Ponce have beaten the guarantees that MLB Trade Rumors projected them for, while Devin Williams at least matched his projected average annual value.
That same publication projects Polanco for a three-year, $42 million deal that would pay out $14 million annually. It was arguably on the low end to begin with, given that he came away from 2025 with plenty of helium and was not given a qualifying offer. And now, the offseason winds may well be blowing him toward more like $45 million or more in a three-year deal.
It wouldn’t be a huge jump in a vacuum, but every dollar always matters to the Mariners. After starting the offseason with seemingly a $30-35 million budget for new salaries, they now have to be mindful of blowing basically the whole thing on just Naylor and Polanco. They have other needs, after all, including in the bullpen.
The Mariners will have options if they can’t bring back Polanco. The likes of Brendan Donovan, Ketel Marte and Brandon Lowe are out there as trade candidates. They could also simply stay in-house, either by placing Cole Young at second base or by giving Colt Emerson the job if he and Ben Williamson both excel in their upcoming battle for the third base gig in the spring.
Compared to re-upping with Polanco, though, of those options have lopsided risk-reward ratios. The Mariners know what they’d be getting with him, so it’s not ideal that going and getting him is proving to be difficult.