Jorge Polanco (Achilles) starts rehab assignment

Mets interim manager Andy Green said Polanco would be “in a baseball progression” at the beginning of the spring. Polanco, who was signed to a two-year, $40 million deal last winter, will probably get another chance at first base next year once healthy, but the Mets will likely want to keep Jared Young around as protection.

That will officially rule him out for the season. The 33-year-old finished the season with a wretched .148/.201/.230 line in 145 plate appearances while dealing with Achilles and ankle injuries. He’s under contract for next year in New York, where he will again not be Pete Alonso.

Polanco was placed on the injured list before Wednesday’s game against the Padres with ankle bursitis. The 33-year-old has had a disastrous first season with the Mets that has seen him deal with injuries and ineffectiveness when available. If he does undergo the operation, it will all but assuredly mean he’s played his last game in 2026. That may be true, either way.

Lower body issues have plagued Polanco throughout the season — and really, for much of his career — and the 33-year-old will once again hit the shelf due to the ankle troubles. The 33-year-old could return at some point near September, but this is a lost first season for Polanco with the Metropolitans.

Before the game, it was reported that Polanco took 300 swings during batting practice to try and get himself right. Well, he should try that again tomorrow because he laced his first hit since July 20th, first extra-base hit since July 7th, and first home run since April 11th. Yes, April 11th, when the Mets were just 7-8 and Polanco was only two weeks past starting a game at first base. Remember when that was supposed to happen? He brought his batting average up to .144 with these two knocks and now has a .445 OPS. Yes, you’re reading those correctly.

Soto has been dealing with the issue since the beginning of the second half. He’s again likely day-to-day. If he plays again this weekend, it’d probably be as a DH, meaning there wouldn’t be a spot for Jorge Polanco in the lineup.

Polanco is 4-for-25 with one extra-base hit and a total of four hard-hit balls since coming off the injured list. It probably wouldn’t be worth worrying about if he was 100 percent physically, but he’s obviously not completely recovered from his Achilles issues, and it’s not at all clear that he’ll be helpful over the rest of the season. If he doesn’t start to improve over these next couple of weeks, one wonders if the Mets might decide to shut him down and try to get him ready for 2027.

Robert Jr. has been on the injured list with a lumbar spine disk herniation since late April. He’s played in 24 games for the Mets, slashing .224/.327/.329 with two home runs and two steals. The Mets will likely trey to get Robert Jr. in the lineup often over the next two weeks to help facilitate a trade. That could cost A.J. Ewing at bats in the short-term or, perhaps more likely, one of the extra outfielders could slide to DH with Jorge Polanco heading to the bench.

The Mets are being careful to ease Polanco back into full-time action following his extended stay on the injured list. Juan Soto will serve as the team’s designated hitter in his place on Sunday while Brett Baty draws a start in right field and will bat eighth against Phillies’ right-hander Alan Rangel.

It appears to just be a routine day off, though Polanco could see less than a full share of at-bats going forward if he’s limited to DH duties. Francisco Alvarez is DHing this afternoon after catching last night. Polanco is 2-for-8 with an RBI in his first two games back from an extended IL stay.