The Seattle Mariners made a big move this past week, acquiring infielder Jorge Polanco from the Minnesota Twins.
The former All-Star will give a jolt to the middle of the M’s order and will provide stability in the infield. Furthermore, because he’s a switch-hitter, he’ll be able to play every day.
His presence also clarifies the rest of the infield situation for Seattle, who also has Josh Rojas, Luis Urias, Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty as 40-man roster options.
The intended platoon of lefty-hitting Josh Rojas and right-handed Dylan Moore at second base likely now shifts to third, where offseason acquisition Luis Urías had been slated to see the most reps. And when considering that the Mariners have lefties Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley as well as righty Haniger flanking Julio Rodríguez in the outfield corners, on any given night, one among that group will be available off the bench, along with Moore, catcher Seby Zavala and Rojas or Urías.
So, that’s largely fair, but it still leaves us with some questions:
It seems perfectly fair that Rojas will become more of an option at third base, especially against right-handed pitchers. However, is Moore really the opposite end of that platoon? Urias would seem to make more sense, freeing Moore to be someone who can slot in any outfield role. Haggerty likely becomes Triple-A depth.
No matter how it all shakes out, manager Scott Servais clearly has more options and more versatility than he did a week ago. And for a team that missed the playoffs by 1.0 game last season, that’s an excellent thing.
