The Miami Marlins need a SS and are already improving another problem position. The Fish need a big bat too, so could both needs be solved in one trade? There's one that I had in mind, but it's not very realistic at the moment. There is one target that is much more realistic, too realistic you can even say. Why not target Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins?
The Miami Marlins can target Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins?
The Minnesota Twins are trying to cut payroll and Jorge Polanco isn't currently set as one of their starters. Paying $10.5 million for a season to a bench player doesn't make any sense. Jorge Polanco played for the team for his entire career. He debuted in 2014, and has a career .269/.334/.446 batting line in 832 games and 3156 AB. Polanco's best season came in 2021.
In 2021, Jorge Polanco batted .269/.323/.503, with 33 home runs and 98 RBI, in 152 games and 588 AB. He has issues with his health in the last two seasons. He batted .244/.341/.427, with 30 home runs and 104 RBI, in 184 games and 677 AB. He has a career 97.3 Exit Velocity (88.3, 88.1 and 88.2 over the last three seasons). He's probably not that much of a power hitter, but is still capable of 20 home run power, and he does have a career .269/.334/.446 batting line. The latter means that his batting average can hopefully improve.
It's interesting to point out that Polanco hit the ball the hardest in 2023 (40.6%). He had a 37.5% in 2021. He also hit more fly balls in 2023 (39.2%) than he ever did before in his career. On the downside, 2023 saw Polanco have the highest strikeout percentage of his career (25.7%). His BB% has also went down from 14.4% in 2022, to 10.5% in 2023. His career numbers are 18.2% and 8.6% for both categories.
There's a definite question about Jorge Polanco's defense, but his price tag is very reasonable, he has a good solid bat and Minnesota is unlikely to want much for him. The Miami Marlins need to look into acquiring Jorge Polanco.