In advance of the 2019 campaign, Twins infielder Jorge Polanco signed a $25.75MM guarantee that extended the team’s window of contractual control by three seasons through 2025. It proved to be an opportune time to strike for the Minnesota front office, as Polanco had a breakout showing that year.
Serving as the primary #2 hitter in a Twins lineup that set an all-time record for home runs, the switch-hitting Polanco tallied 704 plate appearances and posted a .295/.356/.485 line. He wasn’t the biggest power threat on that team, but he did pop 22 home runs. Perhaps of more importance, he was one of the lineup’s better contact hitters and on-base threats, setting himself up to score plenty of runs in front of middle-of-the-order presences Nelson Cruz and Max Kepler. Polanco earned his first All-Star appearance and some down-ballot MVP votes for that showing.
Going into 2020, Polanco looked like one of the better offensive middle infielders around. That year’s shortened season was a struggle, though. Over 226 plate appearances, he stumbled to a .258/.304/.354 slash, managing just four homers. His batted ball metrics dipped, and his overall offensive output checked in 20 percentage points below the league average by measure of wRC+.
Polanco’s bat bounced all the way back last season. He played in 152 games and tallied 644 trips to the dish, slugging a career-best 33 homers. From a power perspective, the Dominican Republic native had easily his best single-season marks. His .235 ISO (slugging minus batting average) was markedly above the .171 league average. So too were Polanco’s 89.4 MPH average exit velocity, 10.1% barrel rate and 37.4% hard contact percentage, all personal bests.
Few players had a starker improvement between 2020 and 2021. Among players with 200+ plate appearances in 2020 and 500+ plate appearances in 2021, only nine had a bigger year-over-year jump in wRC+. He’d shown in 2019 that he’s capable of putting up this kind of production, but it seems Polanco made an effort to be a bit more aggressive last year.
Before 2021, he’d never offered at more than 45% of pitches he’d seen in a season. Last year, Polanco swung 49.3% of the time, attacking pitches both inside and outside the strike zone at a greater frequency. That’s particularly true on the opening pitches of a plate appearance.
Polanco’s first-pitch swing rate last year was a career-high 26.9%, a few ticks above his 2019 mark of 23.5% and well above 2020’s 16.8%. In each of his two best seasons, Polanco’s done a strong amount of damage on opening pitches of an at-bat. Swinging more often early in counts held his walk rate to a below-average 7%, but his combination of bat-to-ball skills and power meant he was very productive even without drawing many free passes.
In spite of Polanco’s bounceback, the 2021 season was a nightmare for the Twins. The expected contenders fell into last place in the AL Central at 73-89, never looking like realistic postseason threats. They’re not planning to rebuild, and Polanco’s going to enter the 2022 campaign as Minnesota’s regular second baseman. If the Twins continue to struggle and an organizational reboot becomes more plausible at this summer’s trade deadline or next winter, a Polanco trade may eventually become a possibility. For now, the organization will hope the rest of the roster can have a similar bounceback in 2022 as Polanco himself did last year.
Probably went back on the PEDs
Where’s the Corsi article? Didn’t see anything when he announced he was terminal, now I see nothing after he’s passed.
No article because he’s not a superstar? Red Sox fans appreciated his time with the team as a player and announcer, plus he was a local guy (Newtown).
It’s not like there’s a lot of other baseball news to report.
My condolences to Jim’s family.
I’d have no issue if they never reported a death. It’s a trade rumors site.
I just feel they should be consistent. Picking and choosing which former ML players get an article is wrong. All of their lives should be valued, not just a select few that the writers care about.
I understand @RobM’s sentiment. I knew of Corsi’s passing, but I also didn’t notice there wasn’t a story here. I don’t believe this is a case of Corsi not making the cut. He played in the majors for a decade and was a good pitcher with a 3.25 ERA and a 133 ERA+. He played recently enough for a major market team where probably nearly everyone here remembers him. I’ve seen less accomplished big leaguers get obits here. His death is being reported widely in major news outlets over the past 12 hours or so.
Tim probably needs an editorial guideline on obits for his stable of writers. Probably does. I think every shift writer is on his or her own, responsible for finding and creating content. In some ways, the slow transactions may be partly to blame. The writers need to create and research content, so that may distract them more. More likely his passing slipped by the last shift writers yesterday.
There is another important reason to note his passing here. It’s a reminder to all over 50 to get a colonoscopy. Our time here is short. Don’t exit early and leave your family behind because you didn’t want to take a simple procedure.
I agree on the consistency side. I’ve never paid enough attention to which obits appear here and which ones don’t. Certainly if an all-time great dies, we will get a story. I have seen stories recently on the Tigers coach, and the Cleveland minor leaguer. (I think it was Cleveland.). The reasoning there might be because they’re affiliated with the game now. Not sure. As someone else suggested here, it could simply be the editor on yesterday missed it. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if it pops up today.
Lord – I am so glad you mentioned the colonoscopy, as I thought the same thing. It would have been a great way to use the popularity of this website to help educate people and perhaps even save lives.
Let’s see how long it takes for them to write something, if ever. It’s been so long now that we are at the point of “why bother”. It’s disappointing, with so many writers here I thought they were better than this.
And as you said, he pitched in 373 games over a decade. It’s not like he appeared in only a handful of games.
Next season: Jorge PEDlanco suspended 162 games
your picture says it all. Polanco had ankle injuries for 2 seasons.
Polanco had an ankle surgery in the 2019-2020 offseason. Apparently that one did not take, so he had another in the 2020-2021 offseason. He said that that surgery worked and he was feeling back to normal. I’m guessing not having a functional ankle was part of his 2020 season.
I believe the move to 2B helped also
Bingo Johnny Vegas. That is exactly what happened. Too bad people can’t resist tearing someone down.
Polanco’s 2021 also wasn’t very good in the first 200 PA’s.
He really got it going in his last 350 PA’s where he put up the big numbers. If you were to have cut his 2021 season at 200 PA’s he wouldn’t have been very impressive this year either. 2020 numbers just don’t mean very much to me.
So the theory given above is that if the overall performance of a team does not meet expectations, fix it by trading the good players? (Who are signed to affordable long term deals.). I have a better idea. Keep the good player and add more good players at positions of need. Take steps forward. Don’t tear it down.
Agreed especially in Polanco’s case, and especially given the contract. They know he can perform in MLB when healthy, he’s still young, and his contract is a reasonable and known cost. Other than Buxton (because of the fresh contract and no-trade clause) Polanco should be the closest thing to an untouchable player in the Twins org.
The 2020 season was a shiiit show for all involved. 2020 numbers need to be evaluated with a grain of salt.
It’s a little ambiguous whether the entire second paragraph is about the 2019 season specifically, but if it is, Donaldson wasn’t on the Twins that year.
Correct. Staring down the 3rd base line at big old Miguel Sano is another kettle of fish altogether. Sano was a beast both at the plate (good) and in the field (bad) which apparently brought on the acquisition of Donaldson.
One thing that is for sure, Byron Buxton has the best agent money can buy. That contract no doubt will be have a bad outcome. Palanco at least plays. A legit player, but obvious Buxton can’t stay healthy to put together a full season. Has three seasons of at bats in 7 years, the length of his new contract. Only one season of 100+ games played. Hopefully Trout stays healthy as well :/
i’m not looking it up..but im pretty sure josh donaldson was not on that 2019 twins team that hit all those homeruns..that was the year he was a brave…