The winter meetings ended on Wednesday with Jorge Polanco still unsigned, despite the Seattle Mariners public overtures to bring him back in 2026.

Reports circulated that Polanco's representation wants a four-year deal, while the Mariners have only offered two. We speculated recently that the two sides would settle on a creative three-year deal, but it hasn't happened yet.

Should that worry the Mariners - or their fans? We asked ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the most recent edition of the Refuse to Lose podcast.

What Buster's saying

"I wouldn't necessarily be worried. Now he might sign someplace else. I mean, we know that after Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber come off the board, all of a sudden the pressure starts to ramp up on the teams that didn't get them. Clubs like the Boston Red Sox, who we've heard connected with him (Polanco). I still think the Mariners are in the best position.

I think, in some respects, maybe the number that might be a little jarring, and maybe informative, for the Mariners is the contract that Mike Yastrzemski got with the Atlanta Braves: two years and $23 million.

I think that, sort of, is a deal that got some attention in the industry where they're like, 'man, you know, for a guy who basically last year hit .233 — he's valuable as a defender, he's a great clubhouse guy' — that was probably a little higher than what people thought as the offseason began.

And I think if you're the Mariners, maybe you do start getting comfortable with the idea of going to a third year if they haven't already.

You know, it really is hard to imagine that Polanco, given his injury history and the severity of it in 2024, that he'd be able to get a four-year deal, but who knows? You know, I don't think anybody thought that Pete Alonso was going to get a five-year deal, but you get a desperate team with maybe a little bit of panic set in, and those things can happen. And we'll see if anyone sort of blows the Mariners out of the water."

About Polanco

Now 32 years old, Polanco will turn 33 in July. A one-time All-Star, he hit .265 for the Mariners in 2025 with 26 homers and 78 RBIs. He had the game-winning hit for the M's in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, and he had the game-winning hit in both Game 1 and 2 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays.

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