Jorge Polanco

Jorge Luis Pacheco Polanco (born July 5, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners. Polanco made his MLB debut in 2014 and was an MLB All-Star in 2019.

Polanco signed with the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent in 2009, receiving a $725,000 bonus. He made his debut in 2010 for the Dominican Summer League Twins. He also played for the Gulf Coast League Twins that year and hit .233./303/.294 with both teams. In Florida, he was roommates with future Twins teammate Max Kepler. Polanco remained with the GCL Twins in 2011, hitting .250/.319/.349 in 51 games. Polanco later said it was difficult to adjust to the culture of the United States. After the 2011 season, he also improved his diet.

Playing for the Elizabethton Twins in 2012, Polanco hit .318/.388/.514 with five home runs in 51 games. He played the 2013 season for the Cedar Rapids Kernels hitting .308/.362/.452 and five home runs in 115 games. He was named a mid-season All-Star. After the season, he played for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, where he would play the next three offseasons, as well. In November, he was added to the Twins 40-man roster.

Polanco started the 2014 season with the Class-A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle. He was called up to the majors for the first time on June 26. He made his MLB debut that day, drawing a walk as a pinch hitter. He played 4 games for the Twins, batting 2-for-5 with two walks and playing shortstop, before being sent back down to Fort Myers. He returned to the Twins for one game in late July, striking out in his only at bat. After that game, he was sent to the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, where he finished the season. In 88 minor league games, he hit .288/.353/.395.

Polanco started 2015 back in Double-A, now with the Chattanooga Lookouts. He was called up to the Twins, making his second career MLB start and committing his first MLB error on June 10, before returning to Chattanooga. He was named a Southern League All-Star with the Lookouts. On July 4, he was promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He again briefly returned to the Twins in late July, batting 2-for-7 with 1 RBI in three games, before finishing out the season in Triple-A. After the season, both MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Polanco near the bottom of their top 100 prospects lists.

Polanco got his first extensive playing time in the majors in 2016, playing in 69 games. He started the season in Rochester and was promoted to the Twins after 10 games. He was demoted back to Triple-A for two months starting in late May, but returned to the Twins on July 30. He was a minor league All-Star for the third time in four seasons while with Rochester. He hit .282 with 4 home runs and 27 runs batted in for Minnesota.

In 2017, Polanco was the primary shortstop for the Twins, hitting .256 with 13 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a career high 13 stolen bases in 133 games. On August 29, he hit home runs as both a right-handed and left-handed batter in the same game. He made his postseason debut, batting 1-for-4 and scoring twice as the Twins lost to the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Game.

On March 18, 2018, Polanco was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug. In a written statement, Polanco accepted his punishment and said he did not intentionally consume the steroid. He was also ineligible to play in the postseason, though the Twins finished below .500 and out of the playoffs. He was reinserted as the Twins shortstop upon his return from suspension. In 77 games, he hit .288 with 6 home runs and 42 RBIs.