Jorge Polanco can do for the NY Mets what many of their hitters couldn’t do

The New York Mets did not face a "can't hit" issue in 2025; they faced a more specific and more frustrating issue. Popping up as soon as an opposing manager started a left hander, or gestured toward the left field bullpen and requested one.

In total, the Mets were just .236 against left handed pitchers (19th) and, in addition to hitting poorly against them, the Mets struck out 402 times when facing left handed pitchers, which was 8th worst in the league. The number of times the Mets struck out against left handed pitchers is a number that will cause a "tough at bat" to be referred to as "three pitches, walk back to the dugout, next batter."

Even though the Mets finished with a respectable 98 OPS+ vs. left handed pitchers (15th in the league), this type of performance is the definition of "surviving the matchup", not "winning the matchup.”

Jorge Polanco could be the Mets’ fix for their lefty problem

That’s why Jorge Polanco matters. Not as a “save the lineup” hero, but as a very targeted solution to a real roster problem.

Every season has its own little riddle. For the Mets in 2025, left-handed matchups brought one of their own. Sometimes it’s approach. Sometimes it’s roster construction. Sometimes it’s just the way the lineup falls on a given night — a few left-handed bats stacked together, a couple of strikeout-prone hitters, and suddenly the opposing manager is playing matchups like it’s October in June.

The Mets weren’t hopeless against lefties. But they were ordinary, and ordinary gets exposed when you’re trying to stack wins. Polanco’s 2025 numbers against left-handed pitching are loud in a way the Mets could use more of. In 104 at-bats, he hit .308/.345/.543 with a 150 wRC+, plus 5 homers and 19 RBIs.

Polanco’s success against lefties can change the vibe of an inning. Because when a lineup has a hitter who can punish from both sides of the plate, it forces opponents to think twice about the easy button.

This isn’t about pretending Polanco fixes every offensive issue. It’s about leverage. He’s the kind of bat you want available when the matchup is screaming for it — when the game tilts into that left-on-left trap the Mets fell into too often.

If the Mets are serious about shaving down the “free outs” in those spots, Polanco gives them a clean path: fewer strikeout-heavy at-bats against lefties, more competitive contact, and actual thump when a southpaw tries to steal an inning.

For a team that was middle-of-the-pack against left-handed pitching, that’s not a small upgrade. That’s a difference-maker hiding in plain sight.