Reevaluating the Jorge Polanco trade – Dr. Gast's blog

Listening to the Mariners podcast, the team and fans were elated about the trade. Polanco has been a target for a long time, and while social media tried to disparage him because of the injury, they really liked his #. That the parts they gave up weren't really necessary to their larger plans. But we need to make sure there are two Polancos. An injured Polanco who hasn't received treatment for a long time and a healthy Polanco. A lot of people want to focus on the injured Polanco, who hasn't received treatment for a long time, but given that he was on bed rest last year and had a normal offseason, I think I'm betting on a healthy Polanco with decent stats.

Polanco had a great debut hitting .333/.500/.833/1.333 with an OPS+ of 268 and had very good BA and OBA early in his career with very few ABs. '19 was a big opportunity for him, he had a great first half and was selected as an All-Star, but due to the extra time in SS, he played with an ankle injury for at least the second half, and his ranking dropped significantly, but still He received the MVP vote. He underwent ankle surgery that ended his season. In 2020, he played all season with a bad ankle and had another ankle surgery at the end of the season. In '21 he was removed from SS, never had ankle problems again, and was the only OAA he had a really healthy season in '13. In 2022, he did well in the first half, but in June he hurt his back, but the government gave him time off and he got back on his feet. Since then, he hasn't had any back problems. He then played the rest of the season with his knee feeling bad until he injured it sliding and was unable to take the field.His stats are good even when playing injured, but amazing when at 100%

Gonzalez is an overrated prospect. He's not a great fielder, but he has a good arm, which is why he projects to RF. Some think he'll add extra power because he's young, but the truth is, his frame is 5'10, so he's pretty much full, and the true evaluators think he's a good guy to play with in RF. I believe you will never get close to HR needing to be profiled in order to do so. His lack of plate discipline will cause his stock to plummet. SEA removed him at the right time. The Twins don't need Gonzalez now or in the future.

Desclafani, SEA was desperate to reverse. I think FO can fix the pitch mix (I was thinking the same thing about Shoemaker). We don't need a fifth starting pitcher anymore. There are plenty of in-house pitchers who need that opportunity more than the washed-up veterans.

Bowan, this co-pilot loves his weird stats, he's a low-stakes lottery ticket.

Topa, 32 years old. Much like Jose Lopez, we don't know how he will react in Minnesota and whether his success can be sustained. We have some in-house pitchers that we can play with, but they need experience and we know that.

Money, free up money so they can sign a one-year contract. Gallo type who hits 1B or OF. Here they signed Carlos Santana at 1B. He's a potential HR hitter with less than the average twin, but can he produce big hits when needed?Miranda would be better served as a 1B/DH to increase his stock.

I'd much rather get a healthy Polanco as a full-time 2B that would allow Farmer to get better usage time elsewhere, and a nice clutch bat for 2024. All these parts are really not needed. Why trade Polanco if they weren't over budget? All we really need is postseason special, but if they can't do that, then it's better not to do anything.

The 2024 offseason is very similar to the 2021 offseason. It's good to admit your mistakes. Otherwise, if you keep making mistakes, you could end up in big trouble. Otherwise, you can learn from it.