Placido Polanco
I mentioned this briefly on twitter, but Ken Rosenthal reported that the Phillies are actively trying to move Placido Polanco to free up room to make a run at Aramis Ramirez. If the Phillies are heavily motivated to move Polanco, he’s a guy who could make sense for the M’s.
With Seager and Liddi around, the team has a couple of interesting young players that could potentially be the long term answer at third base, but Liddi certainly isn’t ready to help in 2012 and Seager might not be either. The team could use a quality bridge at the position, and Polanco could be an option for the team, especially if the Phillies are willing to pick up a couple million on the last year of his deal.
I know it’s pretty easy to look at Polanco and just say that he’s a right-handed Kyle Seager, and that the M’s should just play Seager if that’s the skillset they want, but having both around would actually be pretty helpful. Polanco hits lefties well, while Seager hasn’t shown that he can hit them at all, so the upgrade vs LHPs would be substantial. He’d also offer infield depth and could allow Seager to spell Ryan at short or Ackley at second, or if they’d rather keep Seager playing third regularly, Polanco could be the one to get playing time around the infield.
Health concerns mean he’s probably not a full time player, but the M’s shouldn’t really be in the market for a full time third baseman. A solid guy who can get 400-500 plate appearances and provide the team with depth and the ability to not have to sink or swim with Seager could be a good fit for the organization, however, and if the Phillies are trying to move him, the cost shouldn’t be too prohibitive.
Not saying it will happen, or that the M’s are even thinking about it, but it’s a name to keep in mind at the least.
You know who I’d rather have to fill that role? Maicer Izturis. Just sayin’.
Good idea Dave, Polanco has been a good player for a long time and would be a welcome veteran presence in the club house.
His .674 OPS would fit right in as well.
He’s 36, so it is possible that Polanco is slowing down a bit, but for his career he’s been a .331 wOBA hitter and plays fantastic defense at second and third. He was suffering from a bit of a hamstring injury last season which probably hurt his offensive numbers.
He’s got an unusual skillset in that he’s an uber-high contact rate hitter (over 92% usually), so he’s going to live and die by his balls in play finding holes. Though last season his BABIP was firmly in the .292 range, which isn’t far off his .311 career mark, his overall numbers were the worst he’s ever posted. Couple that with a 25% line drive rate, and I’m guessing that there is some very unusual things going on with Polanco’s season that artificially torched his hitting line.
He’s not going to hit for power, so SafeCo Field wont hurt him. Polanco’s strengths lie in basically a “spray and pray” method: put as many balls in play as possible and eventually you’ll find grass. But he’s not a Jose Lopez-esque free swinging hacker which annoys us all. Polanco can lay off the garbage, at least better than league average, though he’ll eventually hit a ball straight somewhere before a pitcher can walk him. He’s also one of the hardest players to strike out.
Overall, I like the idea. As a bridge, you could do a lot worse.
As a bridge, I’m still not keen on bringing in a 36 year old, no power guy making over 6 million to be our primary third baseman. Further more, I’m not convinced Seager, and even less so, Liddi, are long term answers at third.
I still think Seager is thrown in a trade package this winter given his value as a second baseman.
Personally, based on nothing but potential upside, I prefer the Ms to go after Ian Stewart if they’re looking at a project third baseman. He could be a nice bat if he put things together. Since the Rockies are looking hard for a second baseman a trade including Seager looks like a fit to some extent.
I hope Jack Z doesn’t waste 2 seconds thinking about this move…. Unless Amaro wants to swap Figgins for Polanco đ
$7.25M with the buyout…seems a tad pricey for a 3B who doesn’t hit well. Amazing defense but we’re witness to how that can disappear easily (Ichiro, Figgins).
Amaro probably wants to sell ASAP and we’re waiting for Fielder to play out, so the fit seems off as well.
No Thanks. Too old and too little power for a third baseman. Too much coin too.
FA
Casey Blake
Eric Chavez
Alberto Callaspo
Wilson Betemit
Kevin Kouzmanoff
TRADE
Casey McGehee
Ian Stewart
Chase Healdey
A few of them might be a bit of a stretch but could probablly be brought in for the vet minimum or a very low base salary.
With Figgins already here, there’s NO room for an aging 3rd baseman like Polanco. Besides the Tigers and Angels would probablly drive the price up and take away any bargain he might be.
Yeah, I mean, how could the Mariners possibly use a 2-3 WAR position player on a one year deal? They had bunches of them last year! Like Dustin Ackley, Brendan Ryan, and, um… hey, look, is that the Hindenburg exploding?
Yeah, I forgot, DINGERS!!!111!!11!!!
Yeah, I mean, how could the Mariners possibly use a 2-3 WAR position player on a one year deal? They had bunches of them last year! Like Dustin Ackley, Brendan Ryan, and, um⌠hey, look, is that the Hindenburg exploding?
Yeah, I forgot, DINGERS!!!111!!11!!!
Dingers…you should change your name to that so everyone knows not to read your comments.
Anyway, $6M for the season and a competetive market for 3rd base will drive up the asking price. Maybe if we were a piece or two away. Or if they were willing to swap Figgins + a prospect then maybe.
The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics, and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen, agent Wilfredo Polidor told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles
YUK.
Seriously, if you just come here to say that “Player X doesn’t have enough power so you’re not interested”, just don’t bother.
Isn’t it impossible to have too much coin?
A haiku:
Bling, bling yada ying,
Make all my pockets jingle
Make my ole heart sing.
For what it’s worth, Polanco’s been a great fielder at 3rd as well. I agree with Dave. He’s a 2-3 WAR player with 400AB. Maybe he gets fewer at bats if we emphasize Seager or Liddi. As an aside, I realize the blogosphere has some hate for Figgins, but honestly, what happened to him?
Seriously, if you just come here to say that âPlayer X doesnât have enough power so youâre not interestedâ, just donât bother.
This is too harsh. Most of us get that there are other ways to win- contact skills, patience, baserunning and defense. But the Mariners just signed a player with all those skills, plugged him in at 3rd for the last two years and saw him perform below replacement. This is not DINGERS WE NEED DINGERS.
This argument is, at corner positions, too much has to break right for a player without power to be valuable. Power gives corner players a margin for error so that when their other skills regress or erode or whatever happened to Chone Figgins, dingers might at least make a player average at the position.
DingersâŚyou should change your name to that so everyone knows not to read your comments.
Right.
I’ll stop making the comment when other posters quit evaluating players solely based on their isolated slugging percentage.
Or if they were willing to swap Figgins + a prospect then maybe.
You realize Polanco’s actually been a decent player and Figgins has been horrible for two years, right, and is still under contract through 2014? We’re not discussing making a trade with Bill Bavasi here…
As an aside, I realize the blogosphere has some hate for Figgins, but honestly, what happened to him?
He’s spent the last two years being terrible and contributing to Wakamatsu getting fired, and collecting 18 million for that. How much analysis do you need?
Power gives corner players a margin for error so that when their other skills regress or erode or whatever happened to Chone Figgins, dingers might at least make a player average at the position.
Right, because power doesn’t erode either. Look at Griffe- er, Sexs- um, Kevin Mitch-well, maybe Gorman Thom- hey, look, it’s the Hindenburg again!
Power can erode, sure, but it’s less variable that contact. We might be conflating the issue of power/contact with the issue of whether Figgins’ skills eroded or were subject extreme variances.
I do think that for a new third baseman, the bigger the contrast to Seager’s skills, the more value for the Mariners.
I’m not saying Polanco wouldn’t help the team. I just like the McGehee suggestion better.
But the Mariners just signed a player with all those skills, plugged him in at 3rd for the last two years and saw him perform below replacement.
What, precisely, does this have to do with anything? Is your argument that we should conclude from the Figgins fiasco that players without power are much more likely to collapse and lose their value? That’s simply reacting randomly to events, not thinking carefully and seriously about risk and reward on a case by case basis.
This argument is, at corner positions, too much has to break right for a player without power to be valuable.
Polanco has been a 10 WAR player over the last three years, while playing primarily at 3B, which contains positional adjustments. What you need is value, from defense, patience, power, whatever. There’s nothing about fielding at 3B that makes your power more valuable or your other offensive skills less so. If your contention is that Polanco has not actually been valuable these last few years, and WAR is wrong about him, you’ll need to do more than repeat platitudes about ‘power positions’ to make the case. What does WAR miss about Polanco’s value that you’re seeing? Please be specific.
I think Carlos Guillen is a better fit if the M’s want a veteran. Guillen has the advantage of staying in the same league, having experience in Safeco, being a switch-hitter, being cheaper, some left field ability, etc.
Not really a fan of either player for the M’s though, to be honest.
As an aside, I realize the blogosphere has some hate for Figgins, but honestly, what happened to him?
I would also like to know what the hell happened to him. Why did he throw out what worked for him his entire career (i.e. patience at the plate) in favor of agressiveness? Is this what the team teaches?
I’d be much much happier to see Polanco than Guillen (maybe just because I remember Carlos as an awfully injured guy from 10 years ago?) Paying $7 Million for Polanco’s profile (36-year-old coming off injury-plagued year and not being expected to play more than 2/3 time) would be awfully difficult to digest, however. I don’t imagine Z would be ecstatic about that either.
You mistakenly put Alberto Callaspo in the ‘FA’ column, when he should be in the ‘TRADE’ column. He’s still under the Angels’ control for a few years. đ
{If, contrary to what Dave said in this article, the Angels signed Aramis Ramirez(and not the Phillies), then the Angels could perhaps non-tender him by the deadline to do so next week. But if the Phillies do sign Ramirez, it seems likely that Callapso gets tendered a contract for 2012 by the Angels.}
I think I am getting this site, after years of reading it. When I saw this on twitter my first thought was “oh Polance might be a good option.” Not long after Dave wrote up the why to go along with that thought.
So take heart Dave for all the people that don’t get it. I think I am.
Ive been mystified for years now about the fixation some have had on payroll, chemistry, proven power bats etc…
Those aint the problem people and they never have been….
IMHO, Seattle’s lineup has suffered greatly from a significant lack of alliteration for the better part of a decade now….
Placido Polanco would be a great first step in finally addressing what has been to me a glaring issue…
Polanco has always struck me as a guy who puts the bat on the ball whether the rest of the lineup is hitting or not. If he’s cheap enough, why not??
The long term answer at 3B is probably Liddi (great power…25-30 guy… and he’s getting better in many other aspects of his game) or Francisco Martinez, who is three years younger, a better contact hitter, is advancing rapidly, and may be ready by 2013. He hasn’t quite the power (15-25), but he does have speed. Both may be ready to move up permanently in 2013, and Liddi may make it in 2012.
A solid veteran “bridge” to 2013 would be a nice addition at the right price. With what we have coming up, however, I’m not paying big bucks and/or a long term contract for anyone at 3B.
The long term answer at 3B is probably Liddi (great powerâŚ25-30 guy⌠and heâs getting better in many other aspects of his game)
Liddi K’s a lot at AAA. 170 Ks in AAA means you’re a whiff machine in MLB.
People seem awfully down on Kyle Seager because he’s NOT a prototypical 30 dinger guy at 3B, but again: going from High Desert to MLB in the space of about 9 months, and managing to be credible while being rushed through the system? A good sign (and Seager’s one of the guys the projection systems don’t hate in 2012- in fact, ZIPS and Bill James appear to like him more than they like Smoak, when you count in position adjustments).