It looks like Gregory Polanco’s next stop will be overseas.
According to Tenchy Rodriguez and Héctor Gómez, the former Pirate is “very close” to signing in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, pending a physical.
Gregory Polanco is very close to reaching an agreement in the Japanese Baseball League. Pending physical, per @TenchyRodNYC.@z101digital @ZDeportes pic.twitter.com/ImHpPz5yez
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) December 15, 2021
Polanco was not declared to be an XX(B), or major league, free agent since he did not finish the season on a 40 man roster, so he was free to either sign a minor-league deal during the lockout or wait until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached between the league and players association for a major league contract.
But given his struggles the last few years and the uncertainty of 2022 season, going to Japan was evidently more appealing.
At just 30, he’s young enough that a return to Major League Baseball would be possible if he plays well there, if he so desired.
Polanco never quite lived up to expectations with the Pirates. He was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in all of baseball ahead of his promotion to the majors in 2014, and while he was streaky his first few years, he posted above-average results.
Thinking he was a breakout candidate, the Pirates signed him to a five-year, $35 million contract in 2016 that ran through the 2021 season.
Polanco received a $3 million buyout of his 2022 club option to end the contract this winter.
However, injuries plagued him from 2017 to 2019, with the most notable being a shoulder injury that required surgery after attempting to slide into second base in September of 2018. He was able to return three weeks into the 2019 season, but he later admitted he rushed back and that was a mistake, leading to more struggles.
That rushed return led to another set of physical therapy ahead of the 2020 season.
While those injuries were put behind him the last two seasons, they were two of the worst offensive campaigns for a Pirate starter in recent memory. Over 157 games played since 2020, he slashed .191/.261/.345 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs.
That performance drew the ire of fans, eventually leading them to chant “D-F-A” late in the season, expressing their discontent with his play.
Those boos weighed on Polanco.
“It’s tough. It’s tough. It’s not nice. It’s not nice. They have to understand that I’m a human being, too,” Polanco said Aug. 26. “This is my work. This is my job. I don’t want to do bad. I eat because of baseball. That’s how I get paid, so I want to do great every time. That’s not nice to hear that, the fans like, ‘Oh, release him. DFA him. Send him back.’
“But they don’t understand. They don’t know how hard it is. I’m doing 100% every day to get better. It’s been a hard year for me, obviously. This is my free-agent year. I want to do good. I want to keep playing baseball until I can’t. I don’t want to retire. I don’t want to be home. I want to be on a baseball field. This is what I love. They don’t understand, and that’s sad.”
He was released shortly after that interview in late August. He was the last remaining member of the Pirates' 2014 and 2015 playoff teams.
He signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays shortly after. While he did hit better for their top farm team, he was not promoted to the majors for the Jays’ stretch run.
Over 823 career games with the Pirates over eight years, Polanco hit .241 with 96 home runs, 362 RBIs, 98 stolen bases and a .718 OPS.
Polanco would be the third member of last year’s Pirates team to make the jump to Japan this offseason, assuming his deal gets finalized. Kyle Keller signed with the Hashin Tigers earlier this month, and Cody Ponce was released at the end of November so he could sign with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
