At first glance, the New York Mets decision to sign Seattle Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco to play first base doesn’t make a lot of sense. He’s never played the position before, and a lot of teams have gone down a defensive rabbit hole by assuming that almost any player with infield experience can shift over to first.
But Polanco is different. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mariners spent extensive time preparing Polanco to move to first, but they didn’t actually make the move due to a glaring need at second that forced the infielder back into familiar territory.
The two Seattle coaches who taught him the ropes were Mariners infield coach Perry Hill and bench coach Manny Acta, primarily, and the lessons included how to hold a runner on, how to get to the base without being stepped on (that one’s kind of huge), how to throw to second and how to get back to the bag if the catcher makes a snap throw.
“He knows how to do all that stuff,” Hill said in a recent phone interview with Sammon.
There’s no substitute for game action, of course, but Polanco will come into spring training knowing all the right moves. He’s played all over the infield, and Hill indicated that was actually something of a problem initially.
“The main thing that they’re going to have to help him break is the habit of an infielder wanting to go for the ball all the time,” Hill said. “You need to cover first.
“If you get the ball between first base and second, then you’re going to have to throw to a moving target, the pitcher, which you really don’t want to do unless you really have to. So things like that — cut-offs, the relays, where to be at the right spot, how to get there quickly and early. Those are the things that he’ll probably have to work on.”
Polanco will also be expected to tighten up the right side of the Mets defense, given that former first baseman Pete Alonso was basically a statue who didn’t add much.
The Mets are also dealing with some clubhouse issues, and Polanco will play a tacit role in helping to solve those as well. He leads by example, shows up on time and has the right work ethic for a team with leadership personalities that were all over the map.
“You’d have to be hard-pressed to find a better human being than Jorge Polanco,” Hill said. “He’s an A-plus person.”