Yankees, Astros miss out on one of few remaining infield targets to AL rival

The Seattle Mariners finally made a move, signing Jorge Polanco according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com revealed that he's signing a one-year deal with an option based on plate appearances.

This is a fine move for the Mariners. In an ideal world, they'd spend money on a big bat like Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman to compliment their pitching staff, but Polanco, at this point, is one of the best infielders still on the open market.

The 31-year-old is coming off a down year after the Mariners acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Twins, but during his tenure in Minnesota, was one of the most consistently solid producers offensively as a second baseman. The Mariners are hoping he can bounce back in 2025, helping a lineup in dire need of a boost.

Polanco re-signing at this point is a win for Seattle, even if that win is a small one. It's an even bigger win for Mariners fans given the fact that the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, two AL competitors, were reportedly interested in signing him as well.

Yankees, Astros miss out on Jorge Polanco, who signs with AL competitor

Polanco wasn't a player that Yankees fans or Astros fans were thrilled with their team being linked to after his down year, but it isn't hard to see why both of these teams expressed interest.

From New York's perspective, they need another infielder - point blank. Sure, Polanco is coming off a down year, but he has done enough in recent memory to perhaps trick the Yankees into thinking he can bounce back in 2025, hitting with better players around him and in a more hitter-friendly ballpark. Polanco, as underwhelming as he might've been, feels like a safer bet to succeed than the likes of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza, who the Yankees seem set on allowing to earn playing time at their infield vacancy.

At this point, it's hard to see where they go from here. The dream scenario would be for the Yankees to be the Yankees and simply pay Alex Bregman to play third base, but nothing about how they've operated suggests that's happening. Unless Brian Cashman pulls off an under-the-radar trade, there's a good chance they'll enter Spring Training with the LeMahieu, Cabrera, and Peraza trio, which is something no Yankees fan wants.

From Houston's perspective, the idea of moving Jose Altuve to the outfield is becoming a very real one, whether Alex Bregman returns or not. According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the Astros would have used Polanco regularly at second base, moving Altuve to the outfield. Now that Polanco is off the board, perhaps this will make a Bregman deal more likely.

All Mariners fans can do now is hope that Polanco makes those AL teams pay for passing on him. If he can't provide the lineup with any sort of boost, they might be in major trouble, given the fact that he's their biggest addition thus far.