A mark of a great front office is the ability to identify bounce-back candidates and undervalued players and gobble them up before they prove that the league’s general opinion of them was incorrect. The mark of a poor one is waiting until an underperforming player breaks out and then pouncing to pay top-of-market dollars for his services. Where do the New York Yankees stand?
Firmly in that second camp, if the latest rumors are to be believed. The Yankees are in search of a right-handed bat for the infield. The lineup as a whole is entirely too left-handed, and Ryan McMahon’s troubling offensive performance has the club looking for a platoon partner, if not an outright replacement.
That brings us to Jorge Polanco, the former Seattle Mariners infielder who hit three big postseason homers and is apparently attracting the Yankees’ interest.
The Yankees’ rumored interest in Jorge Polanco has them set up for an overpay by getting involved in his market a year too late
After a 2024 campaign that saw him slash .213/.296/.355 and post a replacement player-esque 0.3 fWAR, the Mariners declined the $12 million option they held on Polanco and left him dangling on the free agent market for months, only to reunite at a lower cost once they realized they weren’t going to find anything better in their price range. The Yankees had eyed Polanco as well, but ultimately decided that $7.75 million for his services was too rich for their blood.
Polanco responded with a resurgent .265/.326/.495 mark and 26 homers in 2025, which is what has piqued the Yankees’ interest in the 32-year-old. That performance has Polanco in line for a sizable payday, with most experts projecting a two or three-year deal in the $12-$15 million AAV range.
Now the Yankees have Polanco in their crosshairs again, staring down the proposition of paying the switch-hitter double what he made last season to bring balance to the infield. Of course, in that time, they also added McMahon’s $16 million salary to the books.
Defensively, Polanco “plays” second base and third base, but he was primarily a DH in 2025 for Seattle thanks to his putrid glove. That makes him less than an ideal fit.
Polanco would be the bat-first option, but it has to make you stop and think. The Yankees love McMahon’s defense and are paying $16 million for that privilege, and now, in part because of McMahon’s shortcomings at the plate, are drawn to Polanco’s bat despite his defensive issues, and could be willing to pay him almost the same amount. If a Polanco signing came to fruition, that would be about $30 million committed to two players to solve the hot corner, which, of course, was completely neglected last offseason. Or, even worse, they could trade Jazz Chisholm to maxmize the value in a return, and then use Polance to replace him at second base.
You know what $30 million could have bought you? It could have bought you Alex Bregman, who is equal parts above-average bat and stellar defender. But hey, why take that money and spend it on one star player when you can split it between two to create a volatile Frankenstein situation that could end in disaster?
Given the Yankees’ reluctance to spend last offseason, Polanco would have been a nice choice, but now he’s a regression candidate that will command significantly more money. Not a smart move for a team on a budget.