Polanco shut down with ankle soreness, will return to NY for testing
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SAN DIEGO -- The injury-riddled Mets received more bad news Saturday when first baseman Jorge Polanco had his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse shut down after he experienced ankle soreness, the club announced. He will return to New York for further evaluation.
Polanco, who has been on the injured list since April 18 dealing with left Achilles bursitis, had been playing through the injury since the start of the season. He began what was expected to be a lengthy rehab on May 27 and was progressing well enough that it was possible he could’ve been activated this weekend in San Diego, but Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said they wanted to see more before he could rejoin the team.
“We felt like we needed to continue to build him up,” Mendoza said. “Four at-bats as a DH, seven innings on defense, at least. We won’t see him here in San Diego.”
Polanco made six appearances (three with Double-A Binghamton, three with Syracuse) since he was cleared for rehab, including back-to-back-to-back games at first base.
The 32-year-old received an MRI earlier this season that revealed no structural damage to his left Achilles, only inflammation around the ligament. Polanco was confident that the ailment wouldn’t require an IL stint, though it became clear that he would have to play through some level of pain for the remainder of the season.
The Mets have leaned on Mark Vientos, Jared Young and Brett Baty at first during Polanco’s absence, which will likely continue should Polanco remain shut down for a significant period of time. New York is already without nearly half its starting lineup, with shortstop Francisco Lindor, catcher Francisco Alvarez and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. among others already on the IL.
Polanco was signed to a two-year, $40 million contract over the offseason to be the Mets’ primary replacement for Pete Alonso at first, banking on him to be the type of hitter he was last season in Seattle, when he batted .265 with an .821 OPS, 26 home runs and 78 RBIs over 524 plate appearances.
New York has received plenty of contributions from Young, albeit in a small sample, at that position while Vientos and Baty are off to slow starts.