The New York Yankees seem to be on the hunt for another bat this offseason, and while re-signing Cody Bellinger appears to be their top priority, they also should bring in another slugger to bolster the lineup.
On that note, a very peculiar name has been reported as a potential candidate for the Yankees: infielder Jorge Polanco.
“The Boston Red Sox have been linked to Polanco, and the New York Yankees have previously checked in on him,” wrote Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. “The Pittsburgh Pirates are aggressively pursuing offensive upgrades and they have expressed interest in Polanco, too.”
My question is, why would New York be interested in Polanco? Where would he play?
Polanco is primarily a second baseman who spent most of his time serving as a designated hitter for the Seattle Mariners in 2025. He is terrible defensively, so it’s not like he would serve as an upgrade over Jazz Chisholm in the field.
I suppose the Yankees could try him over at third base. He is definitely a better hitter than Ryan McMahon, but the defensive dropoff would be extravagant.
Polanco is also said to be seeking a three-year deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 million. Would New York really want to pay $15 million annually for a player who wouldn’t even really have a position on the team?
There would be no clear path to playing time for Polanco unless the Yanks moved McMahon, and again, I highly doubt the Yankees would want to sabotage their infield defense like that.
Plus, while Polanco is certainly a good offensive threat, he isn’t elite.
He slashed .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI over 524 plate appearances in 2025, which was impressive for sure. But he owns a lifetime .771 OPS and is just two seasons removed from registering a .651 OPS.
In fact, the last time Polanco registered an OPS of .800 or better prior to this past year was back in 2021 with the Minnesota Twins. He has achieved that feat just three times since becoming a full-time big-leaguer in 2016 (he initially broke into the majors in 2014).
I get the idea of wanting to add Polanco. He’s a switch hitter who hits both righties and lefties well, and he had some big hits for the Mariners in the playoffs this past October. But if the Yankees are interested in a poor defender who can slug, they may as well bring back Amed Rosario, who mashes left-handers and would be considerably cheaper.
Realistically speaking, Polanco does not make much sense in the Bronx.
