Padres’ smartest DH fix might be a forgotten All-Star on a deal

The San Diego Padres don’t need to win the winter to fix the DH spot, they just need to stop bleeding outs. That’s why an affordable, bat-first play like Jorge Polanco is quietly compelling. He’s the kind of veteran who can lengthen the lineup without locking San Diego into a contract they’ll regret by July.

Unlike the splashier names that come prepackaged with age curves and price tags, Polanco’s appeal is simple: when he’s right, he hits switch-handed, with carry to the gaps and enough loft to punish mistakes. After a brutal 2024, he reminded everyone of that in 2025, posting a .265/.326/.495 line with 26 homers and an .821 OPS for Seattle. That’s not theoretical upside; that’s bankable, middle-order production the Padres lacked for stretches last year. 

Jorge Polanco’s opt-out could hand the Padres a clean DH solution

Context matters here. Polanco’s profile fits the Padres’ current operating reality: add offense without adding years. He was an All-Star in 2019 and has multiple seasons of 20-plus homers on the résumé, but he’s no longer priced like a star after injuries dented his stock, from recurring hamstring trouble to left knee surgery in October 2024.

Seattle leaned into the bat in 2025, using him sparingly at the keystone after a short experiment at third base. He was ultimately the DH for majority of the season, and the underlying contact quality bounced back with it (90.8 mph avg EV, mid-.300s wOBA). For a club that needs thump without long-term risk, that’s exactly the sort of “forgotten All-Star on a deal” the front office should be poking at. 

Here’s where the contract picture clarifies the market, and why so many expect an opt-out. Polanco signed a one-year, $7.75 million deal with Seattle for 2025 that included a vesting player option for 2026. The option kicked in at 450 plate appearances, which he reached, setting that 2026 salary at $6 million, actually less than he earned in 2025. Coming off a 26-homer rebound and big October moments, industry reporting now consistently says he’ll decline that option to pursue a multi-year contract that better matches his 2025 value. In short: he met the playing-time bar, re-established the bat, and the market is stronger than a one-year, $6 million layover. 

There are obvious pros for San Diego if he hits the market. First, affordability relative to impact: Polanco’s 2025 output slots neatly into the Padres’ need for dependable run creation without committing five years to a declining glove. Second, role clarity: keeping him primarily at DH (with occasional infield cameos) protects the legs and focuses the value where it’s loudest, extra-base hits and switch-hitting matchup coverage. Third, lineup fit: San Diego has lived on streaks. A switch-hitter who controls the zone enough to get to his damage gives the manager cleaner matchups in the 6–8 spots while still offering middle-order insurance when hot.

There are real caveats. Durability is a variable you can’t spreadsheet away. The recent knee surgery and soft-tissue history mean any deal needs to be short and incentive-laced, with DH baked in from day one. If the market tries to pay Polanco for 150 games of infield defense, the Padres should step aside; his defensive value is now a complement, not the foundation. And while the 2025 rebound is encouraging, the year prior was rough: .213/.296/.355 in 118 games. If you’re betting on the bat, you’re betting on the 2025 quality-of-contact sticking, not guaranteed, but supported by the Statcast-level return to form. 

Strategically, this is the sort of medium-probability, high-utility move that lets A.J. Preller address multiple needs instead of overpaying for one headline. Let a short-term Polanco stabilize DH, and you can spend prospect capital or dollars where wins are scarcer (another starter, late-inning swing-and-miss).

If the bat holds, you’ve bought a clean offensive floor; if it doesn’t, the exit ramp is short. For a Padres team trying to thread the needle between restraint and contention, Polanco on a deal is the kind of pragmatic gamble that can turn April holes into September solutions.