MLB: The most valued shortstops of 2019
By Bill Felber
3. Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins, $6.832 million value; $3.583 million salary
In 2019, Polanco established beyond question that he can a wield the bat like a front-rank MLB shortstop. What he has not yet established is whether he can provide the fielding essentials.
He batted .295 with 69 extra base hits and 79 RBIs, all of that translating to a 5.7 WAR. It was the third highest WAR of any qualifier at shortstop, and it translated to $3.864 million in on-field value.
His work with the leather was at another, and less laudatory, level. Polanco’s .957 fielding average rated ahead of only two qualifiers, and was well below the .973 positional average. It added just $969,000 to his overall value.
While Polanco’s working on his reliability, he may also want to polish his range. His 3.53 chances per nine innings were 29th among the 31 qualifiers, and good for $889,000.
So it’s pretty obvious where Polanco needs to put in his spring work.
He’s dedicated enough. Polanco’s 1,233 innings ranked 10th among shortstops, representing $1.1 million in value.
The Twins are on the line for improvement in Polanco’s fielding technique. They have signed him potentially through 2025, and certainly through 2023, for amounts that could climb to $12 million. Given the game’s current reward structure for middle infielders, it isn’t mathematically possible for Polanco to justify that level of compensation purely for his on-field contributions, but improvement in his fielding basics will be necessary to bring his numbers closer to alignment.