Mariners acquire Jorge Polanco in trade with the Twins

The Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins have made a blockbuster trade in Major League Baseball. According to Anthony Franco of mlbtraderumors.com, the Mariners acquired second baseman Jorge Polanco of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic from the Minnesota Twins for pitchers Justin Topa of Binghamton, New York and Anthony DeSclafani of Freehold, New Jersey, prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, and cash considerations on Monday.

Jorge Polanco

The Mariners are the second Major League Baseball team Polanco has played for following a decade with the Twins. In 80 games in 2023 (missed significant time with a hamstring injury), he batted .255 with 14 home runs and 48 runs batted in. During 343 plate appearances and 302 at bats, Polanco scored 38 runs, and had 77 hits, 18 doubles, four stolen bases, 36 walks, 137 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .335, and a slugging percentage of .454.

In 2019, Polanco was an American League All-Star. That year in 153 games, he batted .295 with 22 home runs and 79 runs batted in. During 704 plate appearances and 631 at bats, Polanco scored 107 runs and had 186 hits, 40 doubles, seven triples, four stolen bases, 60 walks, 306 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, seven sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .365, and a slugging percentage of .485.

Justin Topa

The Twins are Topa’s third Major League team following three seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers (2020 to 2022) and one season with the Seattle Mariners (2023). In 75 games in 2023, he had a record of five wins and four losses with an earned run average of 2.61 with three saves and 23 holds. In 69 innings pitched, Topa gave up 61 hits, 20 earned runs, four home runs, 18 walks, and had 61 strikeouts to go along with a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.14.

Anthony DeSclafani

DeSclafani never had an opportunity to play for Seattle. He was traded to the Mariners for Robbie Ray on January 5. DeSclafani has played for three Major League teams. He was with the Miami Marlins in 2014, the Cincinnati Reds from 2015 to 2020, and the San Francisco Giants from 2021 to 2023. In 19 games with the Giants in 2023, DeSclafani had a record of four wins and eight losses, with an earned run average of 4.88. In 99 2/3 innings pitched, he gave up 105 hits, 54 earned runs, 15 home runs, 20 walks, and had 79 strikeouts, with a WHIP of 1.25.