The New York Mets have agreed to terms with free agent infielder Jorge Polanco on a two-year contract worth $40 million, ESPN reports. With the Mets, Polanco is expected to split his time between first base and DH. He’s also capable of manning second base and third base, at least on an occasional basis.
Polanco, 32, is coming off a strong 2025 campaign for the Mariners:
Across his 524 plate appearances for the Mariners, Polanco last season put up a career-best OPS+ of 134. For his career, Polanco has an OPS+ of 112 and a WAR of 20.7. He earned his lone All-Star selection as a member of the Twins in 2019, and he has one 30-homer season to his credit — 33 in 2021, also with the Twins.
Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Polanco as the No. 29 available free agent in the current class. Here’s part of RJ Anderson’s write-up:
“Polanco recovered from a down season by swinging harder and pulling the ball more frequently. That combination resulted in both the second-highest home run tally and slugging percentage of his career. He’s lost a step over the years on account of aging and knee surgery, meaning he’s a substandard defensive second baseman. Polanco is also unlikely to repeat this year’s offensive output. Still, a team seeking above-average offense could do worse than him.”
For the Mets, Polanco is their first big addition since seeing two of their core contributors last season sign elsewhere during the recently concluded Winter Meetings. First, closer Edwin Díaz landed with the champion Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million contract, and then franchise home run leader Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million pact with the Orioles.
The Mets are coming off a disappointing 83-win 2025 season in which they went 21-32 from August 1 onward and missed the playoffs.
