With Ha-Seong Kim exercising his player option, the Atlanta Braves' shortstop problem became official. No longer does the hope exist that Kim would stick around of his own accord and now the Braves have to either shell out a deal to Scott Boras' liking to retain him with the rest of the league bidding or wade into a seemingly abysmal free agent market for shortstops that consists of the defensively-challenged Bo Bichette who should probably move off the position and few others worth mentioning. However, another option may have just become available that could solve Atlanta's quandry.
Jorge Polanco isn't a flashy player, but he has been pretty good for a number of years now and he is coming of a really strong season with the Mariners where he hit 26 home runs (which is a miracle in that home park) and posted a 132 wRC+. Up until Wednesday, it was unclear as to whether or not he would exercise his $8 million mutual option or not, although Seattle almost certainly would say yes on their end.
Well, it looks like he made his decision as it has been reported that Polanco would decline his option and that could work out very well for the Braves with one important caveat.
Jorge Polanco becoming available could solve the Braves' roster problem...if they think he can play short
There is a lot to like with Polanco as a new free agent target. Polanco has posted a wRC+ north of 100 in five of the last seven seasons and he also has experience playing all over the infield as well as being a DH. Atlanta definitely would need to employ him primarily as a shortstop, but having the flexibility to move him around to accommodate situations as they come up is definitely a plus. Polanco's defensive metrics aren't great, but they are good enough if he hits as much as he has in the past.
The one problem with this idea is that he hasn't played shortstop since 2022 and it has been longer since it was his primary position. When playing for Seattle, he had JP Crawford manning shortstop every day which made getting reps there extremely tough even if the Mariners wanted to try him there. However, Polanco has steadily seen time at second and third base over the years and his defensive metrics were passable at short aside from 2019 when he seeming forgot how to field period.
The upside with Polanco is that he wouldn't be prohibitively expensive either in AAV or contract length. Atlanta would certainly have to pay Polanco more than the $8 million he just turned down, but he is also 32 years old and not expected to command a hefty contract. The Braves would have to do some homework on him defensively, but it feels like a two or three year deal could get the job done. Given the alternatives that Atlanta are faced with, Polanco could end up being the best option assuming talks with Kim go south.