Now longest-tenured Pirate, Gregory Polanco healthy, ready to play
BRADENTON, Fla. – When Gregory Polanco reported to spring training Saturday and declared he was happy and healthy, the Pittsburgh Pirates had to be as relieved as they are thrilled.
After missing a quarter of last season following surgery on his left shoulder, Polanco pronounced himself “way better” this year. So much better he said it twice.
But the key for the Pirates is that Polanco isn’t pouting about them trading center fielder Starling Marte — a fellow Dominican and his closest friend on the team — to the Arizona Diamondbacks last month.
“Obviously, it hurt because he’s like my brother,” Polanco said. “We spent so much time together before I came to the big leagues. It is what it is. It’s something I can’t control. … Obviously, I’m going to miss him on the team.
“The people who are here, we’re going to fight together. The people that are here, those are the people I have to care about.”
Polanco replaces Marte as the longest-tenured player on the Pirates and the lone holdover from their 2015 wild-card playoff team. The 28-year-old right fielder is looking for a bounce-back season after playing only 42 games last year, when he attempted to play despite a left shoulder injury that hadn’t fully healed. Polanco had a .242/.301/.425 slash line with six home runs and 17 RBIs, and the lingering shoulder problems affected his swing and his ability to throw.
“That was really hard, man,” Polanco said. “That was probably not a good idea to play like that. Obviously, I couldn’t help the team the way I wanted to. But no regrets. That’s the past. I’m happy to be healthy, and that I can be me.”
The Pirates are hoping Polanco can replicate his production prior to the injury, which occured when he slid awkwardly into second base against Miami in mid-September 2018. Polanco hit a career-high 23 home runs and had 81 RBIs, the type of power the Pirates need in the middle of the order with Marte gone.
“I think he extends our lineup completely,” manager Derek Shelton said. “When he’s been here and he’s been healthy, he’s been a really good player. The fact that he is healthy, that just makes us better.”
Polanco started slow last spring, as he was in the midst of a rehabilitation to rebuild his arm strength. He joined the Pirates on April 22 but was shut down following a game June 16 at Miami. Polanco said he knew his shoulder wasn’t right when it didn’t improve once the weather got warmer.
Now, he’s confident and ready to go. Not only does Polanco believe it won’t affect his swing but ready to test runners who took liberties in going for extra bases on him last season.
“I just feel good,” Polanco said. “I can throw long toss, and I can throw hard.”
Polanco also is embracing the new organizational leadership and philosophy. Shelton said when he laid out the plan to create a fun environment, Polanco broke into a big smile.
#Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco arrives at Pirate City this morning. pic.twitter.com/4o67gaw9aY
— Christopher Horner (@Hornerfoto1) February 15, 2020
To have the team’s longest-tenured player buy in so quickly instead of pouting over the trade of Marte meant a lot to Shelton. So did seeing Polanco work out with the team Saturday.
“It was awesome. To see him out on the field, to see him healthy and to see him smile, those are great things,” Shelton said. “When you have a guy that’s that great of an athlete and he walks on the field and is healthy with a smile on his face, that’s a good day.”
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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