Why Jorge Polanco might not be such a bad addition to the NY Mets roster

The New York Mets finally added a bat this offseason, signing switch-hitter Jorge Polanco to a two-year contract worth a total of $40 million. It’s been a confounding offseason for the Mets, who traded Brandon Nimmo and let both Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz walk in free agency. While some may question signing Polanco, he brings plenty to the table for the Mets.

2025 was a career year for Polanco. He slashed .263/.326/.495 with a .350 wOBA, and 132 wRC+. He rarely struck out with a 15.6% K%, and walked at a respectable 8% walk rate. Polanco’s wRC+ was a career-high mark, while his .229 isolated slugging percentage, 26 home runs, low strikeout rate, and wOBA were all the second-best of his career.

Polanco did all of that while spending half of his season in the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball. According to Baseball Savant, the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park was the worst park to be in for a hitter, with a park factor of just 91 (league average is 100). Six different stadiums were considered the second-least friendly for hitters at 97. Meanwhile, the Mets’ Citi Field had a park factor of 98. The difference in park factor between the Mets and the Mariners’ home turfs is about the same as Citi Field and the Boston Red Sox’s historic Fenway Park, the second most hitter-friendly field in baseball behind Coors Field in Colorado.

Jorge Polanco brings plenty of positives to a power-depleted Mets lineup

Another positive is that Polanco is replacing some of the power left behind by the Mets’ recent departures. Polanco is likely a safe bet for 20-25 home runs and a .200 isolated slugging percentage. Over the last three years, Brandon Nimmo has averaged 24 home runs a season. In terms of raw power, both Nimmo and Polanco are similar. Polanco had a 90.8 MPH exit velocity with a 10.3% barrel rate in 2025. Meanwhile, Nimmo had a 91.9 MPH exit velocity and 8.8% barrel percentage last season.

Speaking of Statcast metrics, Polanco’s metrics say that his 2025 may not be a fluke either. His xwOBA was in the 74th percentile of batters this year at .341. He was also in the 73rd percentile of xSLG% at .451. Both Polanco and Nimmo had nearly identical expected wOBA on contact (xwOBACON), with the former at .373 and the latter at .376. Plus, Nimmo was only above the 50th percentile of one expected stat, that being xBA at .255, while Polanco was above the 70th percentile of all three.

This offseason has made many Mets fans question what the team is doing (and rightfully so). There have been plenty of questionable decisions, to say the least. But signing Polanco should not be one of them. He is bringing plenty of positives to the Mets’ roster. The only negative is that he will be primarily splitting his time at DH and first base, which puts more pressure on him to perform at the plate. But based on everything we saw of him in 2025, he is more than capable of meeting those expectations.