Gregory Polanco
Polanco with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023
Chiba Lotte Marines – No. 22
Right fielder
Born: (1991-09-14) September 14, 1991
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: June 10, 2014, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
NPB: March 25, 2022, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.241
Home runs96
Runs batted in362
Stolen bases98
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.241
Home runs50
Runs batted in133
Teams

Gregory Polanco (born September 14, 1991), nicknamed "El Coffee",[1] is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2014 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he also played in NPB for the Yomiuri Giants.

Professional career

Minor leagues (2009–2014)

Polanco competed in showcases, and played as a pitcher due to his being left-handed. He was asked to rotate to the outfield due to a shortage of players, and found that he preferred the position.[2] Polanco signed as an international free agent with the Pirates on April 11, 2009.[3]

In 2009, he played for the Dominican Pirates of the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. In 2010, he played for the Gulf Coast Pirates of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL), where he had a .202 batting average. In 2011, he played for the GCL Pirates and the State College Spikes, batting .237. He spent the 2012 season with the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League. He enjoyed his best season to date, batting .325 with 16 home runs and 40 stolen bases.[2] He was named the South Atlantic League player of the year, and the Pirates' minor league player of the year.[4]

Prior to the 2013 season, Polanco was ranked as the 65th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com,[5] and as the 51st best prospect in baseball by Baseball America.[6] Polanco began the 2013 season with the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. With Bradenton, Polanco batted .312 with 24 stolen bases and 30 runs batted in (RBIs) in 57 games, before receiving a promotion to the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League.[7] In June 2013, Baseball Prospectus ranked Polanco as the 12th best prospect in baseball.[8] Polanco, along with Dilson Herrera, represented the Pirates at the 2013 All-Star Futures Game.[9] The Pirates promoted Polanco to the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League at the end of the season. He received nine at-bats with Indianapolis.[7]

The Pirates added Polanco to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft.[10] On March 14, 2014, the Pirates optioned Polanco to Indianapolis.[2]

Pittsburgh Pirates (2014–2021)

Polanco at PNC Park in 2015

Polanco was called up to MLB on June 9, 2014, due to an appendix injury to second baseman Neil Walker[11] and made his MLB debut on June 10 playing right field.[12] In that game, he recorded his first career MLB hit against Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood, later scoring his first career MLB run. The following day, June 11, Polanco recorded his first career MLB RBI. On June 13, as part of a five-hit game, Polanco hit his first career MLB home run, a two-run shot, against the Miami Marlins in the 13th inning that would turn out to be the game winner in an 8–6 victory for the Pirates. On June 17, he became the third Pirates player—the first since Roberto Clemente in 1955—to record a hit in each of his first seven MLB appearances.[13] The following day, he became the first Pirate to hit in his first eight games.[14] Polanco struggled for a month after a good start to his career, and was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on August 25 before returning a week later as part of the expanded roster at the beginning of September.[15][16]

On April 5, 2016, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced they had reached an agreement with Polanco and his agent Rafa Nieves on a $35 million contract extension.[17] Polanco finished 2016 with 34 doubles, 22 home runs and 86 RBI.

On May 17, 2017, Polanco was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. The transaction was retroactive two days prior to the announcement.[18]

On September 12, 2018, Polanco underwent surgery on his dislocated shoulder and missed the remainder of the season.[19] At the time of his injury, Polanco had batted .251/.340/.499 with a career-high 23 home runs in 130 games.[20]

Polanco began the 2019 season on the injured list before returning to the Pirates in May. He slashed .242/.301/.425 in 42 games before landing on the injured list again.[21] On July 17, 2019, his rehab progress was halted due to continued shoulder discomfort and he was eventually shut down for the rest of the 2019 season.[22]

On July 17, 2020, it was announced that Polanco had tested positive for COVID-19.[23][24][25] In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Polanco slashed .153/.214/.325 with 65 strikeouts in 157 at-bats, while placing second in team home runs (7) and RBI (22).[26]

Polanco appeared in 107 games in 2021 for the Pirates, hitting .208 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. On August 22, 2021, Polanco was designated for assignment by the Pirates to allow him to play for a contender.[27][28] However, Polanco cleared waivers and was re-selected to the roster.[29] On August 28, the Pirates released Polanco.[30]

Over his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, Polanco appeared in 823 games, hitting .241 with 96 home runs and 362 RBIs, while also stealing 98 bases.

Toronto Blue Jays (2021)

On August 31, 2021, Polanco signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.[31] Polanco played in 24 games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, hitting .374 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs. Polanco became a free agent following the season.

Yomiuri Giants

On January 5, 2022, Polanco signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball.[32]

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 27, 2022, Polanco signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.[33]

World Baseball Classic

He played in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and following the conclusion of the tournament, he was named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team.[34]

Personal life

Polanco is from Villa Mella, Santo Domingo, where both of his parents are police officers.[2] Polanco began dating Africa Rodriguez in 2019. Polanco and Rodriguez have one child, a boy, born March 2021.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Find Out How Pittsburgh Pirate Gregory Polanco Got the Nickname "El Coffee"". August 6, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rise of Pirates' Polanco is old-school success story for new-age franchise". TribLIVE. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Williams, Tim (August 30, 2012). "Polanco and Hanson Selected as 2012 SAL All-Stars".
  4. ↑ Price, Karen. "Outfield prospect Polanco fulfilling expectations". TribLIVE.com.
  5. ↑ "Cole among four Bucs prospects in Top 100". Pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com. January 30, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Prospects: Rankings: Top 100 Prospects: 2013 Top 100 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Pittsburgh Pirates | Prospect Gregory Polanco headed for talented outfield | Pittsburgh Pirates | Bradenton Herald". Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Taillon, Polanco, and Glasnow Make Baseball Prospectus Top 50". June 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Gregory Polanco, Dilson Herrera on World roster for Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game | pirates.com: News". Pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com. June 27, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Polanco among four added to 40-man roster". Mlb.mlb.com. November 20, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Pirates call up prized OF prospect Gregory Polanco". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 9, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Top prospect Polanco to make anticipated debut". Pittsburgh Pirates.
  13. ↑ Singer, Tom (June 18, 2014). "Polanco following in Clemente's footsteps". MLB.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Singer, Tom (June 19, 2014). "Polanco takes place in Bucs history in loss to Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Bucs send struggling Polanco to Triple-A". MLB. August 25, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  16. ↑ Singer, Tom (September 3, 2014). "Polanco, Locke among those back with Bucs". MLB.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Pirates announce Polanco contract extension". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  18. ↑ Macklin, Oliver. "Gregory Polanco placed on DL with strained hamstring". MLB. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Gregory Polanco has surgery on dislocated shoulder". MLB. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Gregory Polanco's rehab will cost him time in 2019, and it could shape the Pirates' offseason". CBSSports.com. September 14, 2018.
  21. ↑ "All Aboard the Gregory Polanco Hype Train in 2020". February 16, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Pirates Halt Gregory Polanco's Rehab Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. July 17, 2019.
  23. ↑ Mackey, Jason (July 17, 2020). "Pirates appreciate Gregory Polanco speaking up before COVID-19 diagnosis". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Pirates' Gregory Polanco tests positive for coronavirus; Joe Musgrove to pitch opener". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 17, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  25. ↑ Berry, Adam (July 17, 2020). "Pirates Gregory Polanco tests positive for COVID-19". MLB.com. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Is Gregory Polanco going to be part of the Pirates' future?". www.audacy.com. February 19, 2021.
  27. ↑ Crouse, Jake (August 23, 2021). "Source: Polanco placed on outright waivers". MLB.com. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  28. ↑ Mackey, Jason (August 22, 2021). "Sources: Why the Pirates really put Gregory Polanco on outright waivers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Gregory Polanco pushes back against fan criticism". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates release veteran outfielder Gregory Polanco, 29, 'a great teammate'". ESPN.com. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Blue Jays Sign Gregory Polanco to Minor League Deal". August 31, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Gregory Polanco logra acuerdo con Yomiuri Giants en el béisbol japonés". January 5, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Gregory Polanco Signs with NPB's Chiba Lotte Marines". December 27, 2022.
  34. ↑ "World Baseball Classic: Previous champs, results, medal count, MVPs, All-WBC teams", CBS Sports.
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