Mariners Now Seem Hopeful that Jorge Polanco Will Avoid Injured List
After leaving Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals early because of a hamstring issue, Seattle Mariners' infielder Jorge Polanco is still bothered by the injury, although the team is hopeful he can avoid an injured list stint.
Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times on social media:
Jorge Polanco (hamstring) is doing a little better today and Servais is hopeful Polanco can avoid an IL stint.
Jorge Polanco (hamstring) is doing a little better today and Servais is hopeful Polanco can avoid an IL stint.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) May 18, 2024
Hopeful is not definite, but this is a better outlook than we had on Friday. It still doesn't seem likely that Polanco will play in this weekend series against the Orioles, which means the M's will have to play a very good team with a very thin bench.
In Polanco's absence, the Mariners have been utilizing Josh Rojas at second base and Luis Urias at third. Dylan Moore is still playing shortstop without JP Crawford healthy. The team could do well to get both Polanco and Crawford back soon, as then they can go back to exploiting Moore's versatility and the Rojas/Urias platoon.
Polanco, in his first year in Seattle after an offseason trade, is having a tough go of it offensively. Brought in to solidify the second base revolving door of the last several years, he's hitting just .192 with a .606 OPS. He has hit five homers and has shown the ability to draw a walk, but he's far below his lifetime average of .266. Despite that tough start, he's an integral part of the M's lineup that they need to get going.
The 30-year-old is in the 11th year of his career with the Minnesota Twins and Mariners and is a former All-Star.
After being in a rain delay for nearly three hours, the M's will play the Orioles on Saturday night at 4:05 p.m. PT.
BRADY FARKAS