Jorge Polanco | (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Mets have placed Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list, and the team’s official reason for doing so is the right wrist contusion that arose recently. The 32-year-old, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets shortly after Pete Alonso signed a five-year deal with the Orioles, had also been dealing with an Achilles issue that kept him out of the lineup multiple times.
At the time of his signing, the Mets indicated that they intended to play Polanco at first base, a position he had never played, on a regular basis. But after just two games there to start the season, he stopped playing the field, as the Achilles issue came about quickly.
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There’s still plenty of time for Polanco to bounce back at the plate if he can get fully healthy, even if the Statcast metrics don’t look super encouraging at the moment. In 61 plate appearances this season, he’s hit .179/.246/.286 with a 53 wRC+ and been worth -0.3 fWAR.
As for his replacement on the active roster, the Mets are calling up catcher Hayden Senger. Presumably, that’ll mean that Francisco Alvarez—the standout position player of the early portion of this season—will have the opportunity to get more plate appearances as the Mets’ designated hitter on days he isn’t catching. If Senger does get some starts behind the plate, though, he’s been on fire in Triple-A Syracuse to start the season, as he’s hit five home runs with a .257/.316/.714 line in 38 plate appearances.