The New York Mets made their first significant sogning of the offseason agreeing to a contract with former Seattle Mariner Jorge Polanco. This is a move met with derision from most, but it’s a move that makes sense for the Mets.
First and foremost, Polanco is a bat. Last year, he had a 132 wRC+. If you’re looking to replace Pete Alonso’s career 132 wRC+, the Mets have done that.
Yes, Alonso has historically been the more reliable bat, and he’s coming off a better year. That said, Polanco has been a 116 wRC+ or better in five of the last seven seasons while hitting in more difficult ballparks.
All told, Polanco can hit. This is a plus. Even better, Polanco can DH. That’s important for a Mets team who never adequately filled that role since the abomination of the universal DH.
There’s also been discussion of Polanco potentially learning to play first base. That’s led to many invoking Ron Washington’s famous line from Moneyball.
The irony here, of course, is Polanco is replacing the homegrown legend of Alonso like Scott Hatteberg was replacing Jason Giambi. The parallels continue as Alonso and Giambj were both truly terrible defensive first basemen.
However, when looking at the transition to first, Hatteberg isn’t the comp for Polanco. Hatteberg was a catcher, and Polanco was a middle infielder.
On that front, we have old friend Wilmer Flores. He was a poor middle infielder who has been good at first. He had a 7 OAA at the position.
There’s also Nomar Garciaparra. His injuries eventually forced him off shortstop and move to first. When healthy, Garciaparra proved to be quite a good first baseman.
Looking at players who need to move out of the middle infield, they do tend to be good first baseman. For Polanco, the floor is as low as it gets.
Alonso had a -9 OAA in consecutive seasons. His throws to first were comically bad and was a factor in Kodai Senga’s injury and second half collapse. Admittedly, the Mets will miss his scoop ability,l. Remember, at that, Alonso was the best in the game.
Taking everything into account, Polanco has a legitimate chance to be better than Alonso defensively. He could also be close offensively, which may result in Polanco being a better overall player.
This is not about replacing Alonso’s homers. It’s about replacing global production. There are many ways to get to a 132 wRC+.
And again, if he can’t play first, Polanco is the DH. Last season, the Mets DHs had a collective 102 wRC+. A position that was purely designed for offensive production was a league average bat. They ranked 20th in offensive production at the position.
No, Polanco was not the flashy name, but he might’ve just been the right name. Considering his offensive production and his reputation as a good clubhouse presence, he could be exactly what the Mets need.