Pittsburgh Pirates: Team Cuts Ties With Gregory Polanco

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed Gregory Polanco on outright waivers and have officially ended his time as a Pittsburgh Pirates.

Once seen as a former top prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gregory Polanco just never found a consistent level of success. He showed flashes but was never able to fulfill his potential and was limited by injuries. He started off his Major League career by setting the club record for the longest hit streak to start his career. After a breakout 2018, Polanco has not recovered to that level of production, a 123 wRC+ and 23 home runs, by hitting just .197/.267/.358 since 2019. His slide into second that caused his shoulder injury at the end of 2018 also limited his throwing ability.

Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic has reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates have placed the outfielder on outright waivers, writing:

"The Pirates have placed right fielder Gregory Polanco on outright waivers, multiple sources told The Athletic on Sunday."

This move shouldn’t be a surprise given Polanco’s struggles, but does come on the heels of Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington discussing that Polanco is still a younger player who is finally healthy. He mentioned that the injuries and the pandemic shortened season have limited Polanco’s playing time and he just hasn’t played baseball since his injury.

Regardless, the team is now moving on from Polanco. As Beirtempfel notes, teams will have until Tuesday to claim the right fielder, but given his salary, he will likely go unclaimed and sign for the league minimum. With Anthony Alford set to return off the Injured List tomorrow, this gives the club an opportunity to continue to see what Alford can bring to the table in 2022. Polanco was likely going to be bought out of his option, and as a result it is good to see what the young players can bring going into next season.