Pirates A to Z: Support for Gregory Polanco is on short supply after a season of strikeouts

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Nik Turley.

Gregory Polanco

Position: Outfielder

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Age: 29

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 235 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: Batted .153/.214/.325 with six doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs, with a team-high 65 strikeouts in 50 games.

Contract: Final guaranteed year of a five-year, $35-million contract that pays $11 million in 2021 with club options for 2022, ‘23.

Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in April 2009.

This past season: Gregory Polanco’s timing was off, in almost every way imaginable.

After shoulder surgery limited him to 42 games in 2019, Polanco arrived at spring training believing he could be “even better” than before the injury. He proclaimed himself happy and healthy, despite the Pirates trading his best friend, center fielder Starling Marte, to Arizona in January.

Polanco proceeded to impress in nine Grapefruit League games, batting .381 (8 for 21) with three doubles, a home run and six walks with seven strikeouts. The Pirates planned to bat him third in the order, behind Bryan Reynolds and ahead of Josh Bell.

Then baseball shut down for almost four months.

Two weeks into summer camp, Polanco tested positive for covid-19, experiencing symptoms that ranged from a sore throat and headache to the chills and fatigue. He missed two weeks, returning to serve as designated hitter for the home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“That’s the toughest part, because my body, I feel good, I feel healthy, but the timing is tough,” Polanco said. “The only way you get better for your timing is by playing, taking at-bats. That’s how you get your timing back. That’s tough, because we don’t have a minor league. We don’t have nothing. It’s just go right into the season, but I’m here and I know it wasn’t going to be easy, so I’m ready for the challenge, and I’m happy that I’m in the lineup and they’re giving me an opportunity to play.”

The Pirates gave Polanco every opportunity to find the timing on his swing, despite his team-leading 65 strikeouts and a 37.4% whiff rate. Polanco focused on shortening his swing and putting the ball in play.

“It’s something that nobody likes, striking out,” Polanco said. “But that’s not me. I don’t even know. I’m just going to keep working. I’m going to shorten my swing and try to just make contact instead of having a big swing.”

When Polanco did make contact, his metrics ranked among MLB’s best hitters. His 51.6% hard hit rate ranked in the 93rd percentile, and his 92.9-mph exit velocity ranked in the 95th percentile. His remedy: Keep swinging.

Side view of Gregory Polanco's homer. 109.3 mph off the bat and 407 ft ? pic.twitter.com/WuAkOsCLHC

— Pirates Analytics (@piRatesanalysis) September 18, 2020

Polanco barreled batted balls at a career-best 12.6% this past season, and his 22 RBIs were tied with Josh Bell for second most on the team, behind Adam Frazier and Colin Moran (23 each). He blasted a three-run homer 446 feet, over the fence in right-center and into the Allegheny River against the Twins on Aug. 6. And in back-to-back wins over Milwaukee on Aug. 22-23, Polanco went 2 for 3 with a two-run home run in each game.

“They’ve mentioned that, that I’m hitting the ball hard,” Polanco said of Pirates coaches. “Yeah, but I want to be more consistent, you know, about hitting the ball. Not just hitting the ball hard. I want to be more consistent hitting the ball, not swinging and missing that much. I have to keep working on making contact and shorten my swing, not try to swing that hard and see the ball. If you can’t see the ball, you can’t hit the ball.”

Gregory Polanco just blasted a ball into the Allegheny River...IN RIGHT CENTERFIELD ? pic.twitter.com/uxGEM0CoVh

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) August 6, 2020

The future: The Pirates have long been waiting for Polanco to be both healthy and live up to his potential at the plate, but he’s pushing 30 and is a career .246 hitter who has never batted higher than .258, hit more than 23 home runs or had more than 86 RBIs.

With Polanco coming off a career-worst season and carrying an $11 million salary, the Pirates are probably stuck with him for one more season. They have two club options, either paying $12.5 million or a $3 million buyout in 2022 and $13.5 million or a $1 million buyout in ’23.

If there is a promising sign, it’s that Polanco decided to play winter ball in his native Dominican Republic for the first time since his MLB debut season of 2014. The Pirates were “very supportive,” hoping that he can rediscover the timing on his swing and return to spring ready for a big season.

“The encouraging thing is he came to us about it,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said, noting that Polanco was excited about the prospect of playing winter ball during his exit meeting with Cherington and manager Derek Shelton. “That made us excited, because not everybody who has been established as a major leaguer and is earning the kind of money he’s making is always going to want to do that.

“But I think it speaks to Gregory’s desire and commitment to get better and probably awareness also that there are things he’s got to find and improve on. He was really excited about the prospect of playing a little bit more, getting some more at-bats. We’re very supportive of it.”

That support is running on short supply for Polanco, who might be down to his last chance to prove that he can come anywhere close to becoming the promising player the Pirates once thought was a future star.

Polanco can’t afford to whiff.