OCT. 12: Polanco had surgery last week to remove “a mild bone spur and small bone chip on his right ankle,” Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. The Twins expect Polanco to be fine for spring training.
OCT. 1: The Twins’ season came to an unceremonious end Wednesday with a two-game elimination against the Astros. The back-to-back AL Central champions could now see one of their key players go under the knife, as president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said Thursday that shortstop Jorge Polanco may need surgery as a result of right ankle problems, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic and Phil Miller of the Star Tribune were among those to report.
“He battled every day, but he was not playing at full strength for a good chunk of the year,” Falvey said of Polanco, who missed just five of the Twins’ 60 regular-season games.
It was only a year ago that Polanco broke out as one of the majors’ finest infielders, slashing .295/.356/.485 with 22 home runs and 4.0 fWAR in 704 plate appearances. This year wasn’t nearly as successful – Polanco, 27, hit .258/.304/.354 with four HRs over 226 PA – but it appears his health (or lack thereof) played a role in his statistical decline.
Notably, Polanco underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle last November, though it doesn’t appear that procedure erased his issues. Falvey said the Twins “need to assess whether or not there is something else going on there that we need to address.”
So, that could be why Polanco blew that throw to Arraez
I e watched it a few times wasn’t a great play on either end… but I still feel like it was catchable other than the fact he caught it then dropped it.
Well if he needs ankle surgery that would explain why his numbers took such a dramatic downturn this past season. Actually the fact that he has an injury that may require surgery might actually be somewhat of a “good thing” — not that he might need surgery and could possibly miss time next year… but that there’s a physical explanation as to why his numbers took such a hit. Because a year ago he was looking like he had broken out to become an ‘all-star level’ offensive shortstop and then this year he really didn’t look like all that much of an offensive threat. so if he was being impeded by nagging ankle pain then one could hope that once he gets it taken care of his numbers will once again return to the ‘all-star caliber’ levels of 2019.
i hope their medical team gets him right. watching talents like he and Moncada (covid fatigue) struggle because of health is a shame.
With SS Royce Lewis, OF Trevor Larnach and OF Alex Kirilloff set to see MLB action in 2021, Some of the oft-injured established players need to get healthy.
You’ll probably see Gordon before you see Lewis. I know Lewis is more highly rated than Gordon, but Lewis struggled at Double A in 2019 and Gordon put up solid numbers at Triple A in 2019. I figure Gordon gets a look before Lewis.
i dont know, they seem dead-set against giving Gordon a chance. he’ll be 30 before they call him up.
I think that’s called the Ryan Mountcastle treatment.
the Clint Frazier treatment
So the Twins hate Gordon like the Yankees hate Frazier? Lol.
The word “battling” is kind of a PTSD trigger now for me, haha. Honestly, I worry that Falvey and Levine have adopted Twins culture versus really leading the Twins to adopt a new culture.
In regard to believing Polanco’s performance at the plate was related to his ankle, I don’t buy it. His sprint speed did drop a bit 28.4 (2018), 28.2 (2019), 27.8 (2020) so he may have been nursing a little, but he’s clearly gaining weight as well. With a shorter conditioning period and generational wealth in his pocket, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see the fall off.