Last weekend, the Seattle Mariners officially missed out on free agent target Jorge Polanco, who signed a two-year deal worth $40 million with the New York Mets.

It's a big loss for the Mariners, no doubt, as Polanco posted a great season in 2025. He hit .265 with 26 homers and 78 RBIs, helping lead the M's to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Reports indicated that his father living in New York was a deciding factor on him going to the Mets.

The money certainly doesn't hurt, either, and reports also indicated the Mariners came in with a strong offer, but not the exact same offer the Mets did.

Speaking on the most recent edition of the Refuse to Lose podcast, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney said he understands why the M's didn't over-extend themselves for the 32-year-old veteran.

That this was a case where the Mariners, you know, given his injury history and given his production in 2025, they clearly wanted the player back. They valued the player, but they also were not willing to go to a really uncomfortable place for them (the Mariners).

And Jorge Polanco being $20 million a year — a team like the Mets can definitely do that. And a lot of times the Mets’ message this offseason has been, 'look, we don’t want to sign anyone to long-term deals. We’re willing to overpay on a short-term deal.' And I think that’s what happened here.

And I understand why the Mariners would be reluctant for a player who, a year ago, coming off a major injury, and you didn’t know how he was going to respond, and now he’s in his mid-30s. I understand why they wouldn’t necessarily want to commit $20 million a year to him.

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So what's next?

Well, the Mariners are in need of offense. They've already missed out on Munetaka Murakami, who signed with the Chicago White Sox, but they continue to be linked to both Brendan Donovan and Ketel Marte on the trade market.

If they are unable to make a move like that happen, they may end up just having to roll with youngsters like Cole Young, Colt Emerson and Ben Williamson at key positions.

And there's always the chance that they could bring in Eugenio Suarez once again. His presence in the clubhouse would certainly be valued, and his affection from the fanbase is well-documented.

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