Mariners’ Jorge Polanco receives warm welcome in return to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — The circle of dirt that surrounds home plate belonged to Jorge Polanco in his return to Target Field.

Twins catcher Christian Vazquez jogged out halfway to the mound as if he was talking to starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson. Home-plate umpire Chris Segal walked out to the first-base line.

It left Polanco alone in that circle as his name was announced as the third batter of the first inning.

It was met with a loud and mostly standing ovation from the fans in the building in what was a late-arriving crowd.

“They are great fans here and they’ve always been really good to me,” Polanco said.

His former Twins teammates in the first-base dugout stood on the top step, applauded and tipped their caps.

It was a thank you for 14 years spent in the Twins organization, including 10 seasons spent at the MLB level.

The shy and quiet Polanco, who admitted he would be emotional when the game started and hoped for a positive reaction from the fans, smiled and removed his helmet, acknowledging the applause and appreciation from the fans and his former teammates.

“It’s definitely great to be back here,” he said. “It feels pretty good. It was a little bit strange coming into the visitor’s side.”

Minnesota is the only organization Polanco had ever known before being traded to the Mariners this offseason.

He signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic on July 6, 2009, and made his MLB debut June 26, 2014. Polanco would go on to play in 832 games in a Twins uniform over parts of 10 seasons. He posted a .269/.334/.446 slash line over that span with 117 homers and 460 RBI. He was named to one All-Star team and was the starting shortstop for the AL in 2019.

Leaving the only organization he’d ever played for and trying to adapt to a new team and new surroundings has been a challenge.

“I spent a lot of time here,” he said. “Moving with my family to a new city and getting to know the city, getting to know my teammates, probably has been the hardest part. But I think I’m handling it really well. I’m getting to know them really well, and I’m having fun.”

Polanco came into the game with a .193/.314/.328 slash line with a double, five homers, 13 RBI, 20 walks and 43 strikeouts.

The numbers aren’t ideal, but they have improved after a rocky start to the season.

“He has actually picked it up,” manager Scott Servais said. “And I know that, again, people look at his overall numbers, but he has really picked it up here in the last week or 10 days. He’s been much more consistent. We are looking for a big series out of him again. Anytime you go back and play against your original team, it’s hard, it’s emotional. Hopefully, he can get a lot of that out of the way early tonight.”

In search of a consistent second baseman and having coveted Polanco for the past few seasons, the Mariners sent right-handed pitchers Justin Topa and Anthony DeSclafani, outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez and right-handed pitching prospect Darren Bowen to the Twins to acquire him.

Topa has yet to pitch for Minnesota this season. He was placed on the 15-day injured list March 28 due to patellar tendinitis in his left knee.

DeSclafani also started the season on the IL with a right elbow strain and underwent season-ending flexor tendon surgery.

Bowen, 23, has made four starts for High-A Cedar Rapids, posting a 2-2 record with 4.00 ERA.

The 20-year-old Gonzalez, who was one of the top prospects in the Mariners organization, has played in 20 games with Cedar Rapids, posting a .265/.315/.456 slash line with eight doubles, a triple, a homer, 11 RBI, five walks and eight strikeouts.