In what could not have been a worse first season with his new team, Jorge Polanco’s dreadful year with the New York Mets has officially come to an end.
Ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres, Mets interim manager Andy Green announced Polanco will undergo season-ending surgery on his injured left ankle.
“It’s gotten to the point where he just can’t get freedom from the pain,” Green said.
The decision comes after Polanco continued trying to play through the injury following his return from the injured list on July 7. The Mets officially placed him back on the 10-day IL Wednesday with left ankle bursitis, an issue that has plagued him throughout the season.
In addition to placing Polanco on the IL, the Mets optioned reliever Jack Weisnburger to Triple-A Syracuse. Infielder Eric Wagaman and pitcher Chayce McDermott were recalled as corresponding moves.
Polanco signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets to replace Pete Alonso as their new first baseman. But it’s safe to say year-one of that contract has been nothing short of a disaster.
In 135 at-bats this season, Polanco is hitting an unsightly .148/.201/.230 with a .431 OPS, 21 wRC+ and -1.4 fWAR.
From the outset of spring training, there were questions surrounding the 33-year-old. Not only was Polanco learning a new position, but he was also dealing with an ankle injury that immediately became a concern.
Few could have expected it to linger for essentially the entire season and eventually require surgery.
Polanco missed over two months trying to get healthy, but even after returning on July 7, it was clear something still wasn’t right. He looked like a shell of his former All-Star self at the plate, consistently late on pitches and struggling to find any sort of rhythm.
The Mets did everything they could to manage the injury, limiting Polanco to designated hitter duties and playing him only a couple of times each week. Still, he never looked fully healthy.
With the Mets’ season all but over, there was little reason for Polanco to continue pushing through the pain. Surgery now gives him a chance to put the ankle issues behind him and shift his focus toward 2027.
New York will hope a full offseason of recovery allows Polanco to return looking more like his former self. The switch-hitter remains under contract for one more season.
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