The last time we saw Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco on a baseball field, he treated fans to one of the ugliest attempts of a slide in history.
Pirates Gregory Polanco with the sloppy slide… pic.twitter.com/ClKQERCFwI
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) September 8, 2018
That attempt led Polanco to the shelf for the rest of the season and to surgery, where he had his right shoulder operated on a couple of days ago.
His surgery included labrum repair in addition to stabilization of his dislocated left shoulder. More importantly, most surgeries to this nature require a 7-9 month healing period.
Pirates say Gregory Polanco's surgery included a labrum repair in addition to stabilization of his dislocated left shoulder.
Typical recovery time before a return to competition is 7-9 months, so that could affect his availability early next season.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) September 14, 2018
If you are scoring at home, that would mean sometime between April and June.
That’s bad news for the Bucs as Polanco, despite some lengthy struggles, put up a decent season in which he hit .254/.340/.499 with 23 home runs, 81 RBI, 75 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases in 535 plate appearances.
Considering that Polanco put up only a .717 OPS in his first four seasons in the majors, the 2018 campaign was an encouraging one.
Considering Corey Dickerson‘s struggles and the fact that Starling Marte can’t put things together, Polanco actually turned into the one bright spot in the outfield.
He’s certainly frustrating at times, but he’s starting to become productive.
I am in the opinion that before the injury to Polanco, the Pirates need to upgrade the outfield somehow in the offseason.
That certainly becomes a priority now.
Sadly, the way it has been throughout his career so far, you just don’t know what you are going to get from Polanco.
Depending on his recovery, that could be even more true next season.
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