Gregory

Polanco

After one season with the Yomiuri Giants and four with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Polanco is a free agent this winter. The now 35-year-old former Pirate hit 73 homers in his first three years in Japan, but he’s faded some since and spent much of last year in the minors. He’ll probably look for another starting opportunity in Asia, but if it doesn’t come around, he could sign a minor league deal with an MLB team. Polanco hit .241/.309/.409 with 96 homers in 823 games for Pittsburgh from 2014-21.

Polanco was viewed as a potential foundational player for the Pirates last decade, but a combination of injuries and declining plate skills prevented him from fully realizing his stratospheric offensive upside. The 31-year-old outfielder batted .240/.306/.457 with 24 home runs and two steals in 484 plate appearances over 138 games last season for the Yomiuri Giants and will remain overseas in Japan for the 2023 campaign.

Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital reported back in mid-December that Polanco was “very close” to an agreement with a team in Japan, and now the Tokyo-based club has made it official here on January 5. The 30-year-old former top prospect slashed just .191/.261/.345 in 157 games with the Pirates between 2020-2021. He was released by Pittsburgh this past August and finished out the year with the Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays.

Polanco was released by the Pirates this past August, having slashed just .191/.261/.345 over his last 556 major league plate appearances dating back to the beginning of the 2020 season. He did then latch on with the Blue Jays but played out the string at Triple-A Buffalo. The 30-year-old former top prospect will now apparently try to resuscitate his career in Nippon Professional Baseball. Look for something more official soon.

Polanco was officially released by the Pirates on Saturday, about a week after being placed on outright waivers. The 29-year-old former top prospect has batted just .203/.270/.364 in 199 games (723 plate appearances) since the beginning of the 2019 season. He’ll be a free agent this winter.

The Polanco saga has apparently reached it’s conclusion with the Pirates. After a few weeks of rumors concerning an impending split between the two parties, it appears to be finally occurring. The 29-year-old outfielder was one of the premier prospects in the game nearly a decade ago and never quite lived up to those stratospheric expectations, hitting .241/.309/.409 with 96 home runs and 98 stolen bases across 823 games since 2014. Perhaps a change of scenery will revitalize his career.

Polanco got Tuesday off against a lefty, but the Pirates have continued to treat him as their starting right fielder even after placing him on waivers. He has five hits, three of them doubles, over the last two days.

There was some confusion about the initial reporting of the move by the Pirates, but he was always expected to clear waivers and remain with the team. That’s exactly what will happen here.

Polanco was placed on outright waivers Sunday, but he remains on the active roster until he’s claimed by another team or placed on release waivers. The former is unlikely to happen, and it’s unclear whether the latter will.

The Pirates placed the struggling 29-year-old on outright waivers, meaning that if he isn’t claimed by another club before Tuesday, he’ll become a free agent. Polanco -- who was set to hit free agency after the 2021 season -- has hit just .198/.277/.343 with 11 homers, 34 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 364 plate appearances this season.