Mets sign second baseman Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

After losing first baseman Pete Alonso, middle reliever Gregory Soto and closer Edwin Diaz in free agency last week, the New York Mets added a player in Major League Baseball free agency on Saturday. According to Rogers Sportsnet, they signed second baseman Jorge Polanco of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic to a two-year contract worth $40 million.

Polanco is set to join his third Major League Baseball team. He has previously played 10 seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2014 to 2023), and the last two seasons with the Seattle Mariners (2024 and 2025). In the 2025 MLB postseason, Polanco played an instrumental role in the Mariners reaching the American League Championship Series, as he recorded the game-winning RBI in the Mariners’ fifth and deciding game against the Detroit Tigers.

Polanco batted .265 with 26 home runs and 78 runs batted in this past season. During 138 games, 471 at bats, and 524 plate appearances, he scored 64 runs and had 125 hits, 30 doubles, six stolen bases, 42 walks, 233 total bases, three sacrifice bunts, five sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .326, and a slugging percentage of .495.

With adding Polanco, expect the Mets to trade veteran second baseman Jeff McNeil of Santa Barbara, California. McNeil had been with the Mets the last eight seasons, was the Major League batting champion in 2022 (led the Majors with a .326 batting average), and was a two-time National League All-Star (2019 and 2022). Like McNeil, Polanco has been an All-Star too, as he was honoured in 2019 while with the Twins. That season, Polanco batted .295 with 22 home runs and 79 runs batted in and had career highs in runs scored (107), hits (186), doubles (40), triples (seven), total bases (306). and sacrifice flies (seven).