Kevin Gorman: Pirates need Gregory Polanco to be even better than before injury
Gregory Polanco was feeling the good energy at spring training and kept repeating the same words over and over: Happy. Healthy. Strong. Tough.
The Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder is happy to be healthy and stronger after a tough season, one where his surgically repaired left shoulder didn’t respond the way he wanted.
But the two words Polanco used to express his hopes for this season — even better — carry connotations not just for his happiness and health but tests of his strength and toughness.
Polanco is well aware he never became the Next Big Thing that Sports Illustrated billed him to be in 2014, that for all of his tools he has left Pirates fans frustrated and longing for more.
“I’m working really hard to be that player or maybe even better,” Polanco said. “Obviously, now I’m more mature. I’m learning how to play, when to be aggressive and when not to and stuff like that. I can be even better.”
No wonder Polanco couldn’t contain his excitement for the start of spring training games, given he missed all of them last year while recovering. After serving as designated hitter in his first two games this spring, Polanco made his debut Wednesday as the starting right fielder against the Boston Red Sox.
Polanco had the Pirates’ brass holding their breaths early, first when he avoided an outfield collision in shallow right-center with Guillermo Heredia and JT Riddle and then when he slid into second baseman Michael Chavis on a fielder’s choice. In September 2018, Polanco was hitting a career-best 23 home runs with 81 RBIs when his season ended by suffering the shoulder injury on an awkward slide.
Polanco rushed his return last season, only to be limited to six homers and 17 RBIs in 42 games. Runners routinely tested his throwing arm, taking extra bases as he was forced to hit the cut-off. When the warmer weather didn’t help the discomfort and the shoulder started to affect Polanco’s swing, the Pirates shut him down.
“It was tough, definitely, because this is the game I love to play, and to see all my teammates playing and I couldn’t, it was tough,” Polanco said. “It was a hard thing but I concentrated on staying healthy. … Now I’m here, happy and enjoying every day, every opportunity and not taking for granted anything.”
That includes his immense talent. Polanco is 6-foot-5, 235 pounds and has a smooth swing blessed with power, but his .252 career batting average shows he hasn’t hit with consistency. He runs like a deer but can be clumsy in the outfield and on the base paths, turning fly balls into an adventure and a slide into something that requires surgery.
“When it comes to Gregory, it’s making sure he plays quick and not fast,” said first-base coach Tarrick Brock, who is in charge of baserunning and the outfielders. “That’s the mindset.”
Polanco spent the offseason getting healthy, so the Pirates are bringing him along slowly. Manager Derek Shelton said Polanco was moving well laterally in cuts-and-relays drills, and his throwing will be monitored by his workload based off games. Polanco showed his bat is coming along when he smoked an 0-2 pitch for a single to right field in his first at-bat against the Red Sox.
“He’s really taking the necessary steps to get back to what we know Gregory Polanco is,” hitting coach Rick Eckstein said.
That’s the problem: The Pirates shouldn’t be satisfied with what Polanco is — or has been — given his tools. They sent a message by trading his closest friend, fellow Dominican Starling Marte. That makes Polanco the longest-tenured and highest-paid position player on the Pirates, at five-plus major-league seasons and an $8.6 million salary this year and $11.6 million next year, followed by two years with club options. Odds are against Polanco playing out that contract, but the Pirates would be foolish to trade him now when his value is at its lowest.
Polanco could change that with a strong start. At 28, he should be in the prime of his career yet has never been selected an All-Star, let alone develop into the superstar he was projected to become. This is not lost on him.
“I know the high expectations everyone has,” Polanco said. “I had this injury and I’m going to keep working hard to be my best, to be the best Gregory out there. Every tool that I have, I’m going to try to make them the best.”
The Pirates need the best Gregory Polanco, one who can provide protection behind Josh Bell in the lineup and become a better defensive player and baserunner than he has shown. Polanco has all the tools. It’s long past time he learns to use all of them. So, sure, a great season would be welcome.
An All-Star season? Well, that would be even better.
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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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