Mariners decline option on second baseman Jorge Polanco

The Mariners are officially on the hunt for another second baseman this offseason.

The club announced Friday that it has declined the $12 million option in Jorge Polanco’s contract for 2025, an expected move after an injury-plagued season for the veteran.

Polanco, 31, will receive a $750,000 buyout, per terms of his contract.

Acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Twins in January, Polanco battled hamstring and knee injuries throughout 2024, posting a .213 batting average with 16 home runs, 45 RBI, a career-high 137 strikeouts and a career-low .651 OPS across 469 plate appearances.

He had surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee shortly after the season ended.

The Mariners could conceivably bring back Polanco on a lower-cost free-agent deal. If they don’t, they will go into 2025 trying once again to solve a puzzle at second base that has riddled the club since Robinson Cano’s departure in 2018.

The Mariners have had a different Opening Day starter at second every year since then.

They’ve tried proven veterans like Polanco (2024), Kolten Wong (2023), Adam Frazier (2022) and Dee Strange-Gordon (2019); and they’ve tried young talent like Dylan Moore (2021), Shed Long (2020) and Abraham Toro (2021 platoon). No one has stuck in that role.

The Mariners do have three players on their 40-man roster with at least some experience at second base: Josh Rojas, their primary third baseman this year; and rookies Ryan Bliss and Leo Rivas.

Cole Young, the Mariners’ first-round pick in 2022, is the club’s second baseman of the future. He spent all of the 2024 season in Class AA Arkansas and is not projected to be big-league ready until 2026.

Until then, sources have said the Mariners will look outside the organization for an upgrade at second base for 2025.

NOTE:

The Mariners also announced that infielder Luis Urias cleared waivers and has elected free agency. Urias, 27, appeared in 41 games for the Mariners this year, hitting .191 with four homers and a .696 OPS.

The club’s 40-man roster is now at 36 players.