Jorge Polanco to Seek Out Mets Legend For First Base Advice

New York Mets infielder Jorge Polanco couldn't pick out a better mentor to learn first base.

New York Mets infielder Jorge Polanco (11) | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

When Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles in free agency during the offseason, it became clear that the New York Mets needed to find another first baseman.

While the first base free agency market wasn't as deep as it had been a year ago, there were still several options New York could have chosen. However, very few people predicted they would go in the direction of Jorge Polanco, whom they signed to a two-year, $40 million contract just a few days after Alonso's deal with the Orioles came out.

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Polanco is a solid replacement for Alonso's production in the lineup. However, he has barely played first base in his professional career. But the Mets made it clear that they intended him to play first base, and that appears to still be the plan at this point in spring training.

New York Mets second baseman Jorge Polanco (11) | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with the Mets' SNY broadcast during his team's February 21 spring training game and assessed where Polanco is in his first base progression.

"With Polanco, at first base, this is another guy that came up as a middle infielder, and now has moved into a new position. That probably is probably gonna take a little bit more time. As you know, Keith, Everybody thinks, 'Oh, we put him at first base.' It's not that easy. There's so much that goes about that position. You're involved in so many plays, fundamentals. You've got to be aware of pretty much whatever is going on with the baseball," Mendoza said, per an X post from SNY.

"It's going well. But again, we've got to get him some game action," Mendoza continued.

"Everybody thinks, 'oh, we put him at first base.' It's not that easy."

Carlos Mendoza talks about Jorge Polanco's transition to playing first base: pic.twitter.com/ZSPXR6Xk9W

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 21, 2026

Jorge Polanco Wants Keith Hernandez's Help At First Base

Mendoza was speaking to Mets SNY analyst Keith Hernandez, who was a legendary first baseman during his 17 big league seasons, including seven campaigns with the Mets.

And it appears that Hernandez could have an impact on Polanco's development at first, as Mike Puma revealed in a February 20 article that Polanco intends to seek out Hernandez's help for learning first base during spring training.

Given that Hernandez won 11 consecutive Gold Glove Awards for playing first base (which is the most by any first baseman in baseball history) and he's considered the best first baseman of all time, Polanco couldn't pick out a better person to teach him the position.

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