Gregory Polanco, who, at one point in time, was among the most coveted prospects in all of baseball, was designated for assignment Saturday, effectively ending his eight-year stint with the Pirates. Infielder Cole Tucker (who you might know from his relationship with actress Vanessa Hudgens) was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis in the corresponding roster move.
The 29-year-old first joined the organization as an international free agent in 2009, debuting in the majors five years later. Polanco showed flashes during his Pittsburgh tenure including a breakout 2018 that saw him set career-highs in home runs (23), walks (61), slugging percentage (.499) and OPS (.839), but never quite graduated to stardom, maxing out as a solid—if unspectacular—big-league regular. This season has been a struggle for the 6’5” outfielder, who has posted an anemic .208/.283/.354 batting line with 11 homers and 104 strikeouts in 382 plate appearances for the last-place Bucs.
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Preferring to evaluate their younger stars down the stretch, the rebuilding Pirates are moving on from Polanco despite the Dominican Republic native having two years and over $25 million remaining on his contract. Known by his nickname “El Coffee,” Polanco will finish his time in Pittsburgh with 696 hits, 399 runs scored, 96 homers, 98 steals and 362 RBI over 823 appearances.
“Gregory has been a true professional throughout his entire Pirates career, including in our conversation with him regarding today’s roster move,” GM Ben Cherington shared in a statement posted to the team’s Twitter account. “He has been a great teammate who always handled himself with class and took a great deal of pride in representing the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh. We wish him nothing but success moving forward.”
The deadline for players to join a new team while remaining eligible for the postseason is August 31st, so in a sense, the Pirates are actually doing Polanco a favor, allowing him the chance to latch on with a contender, if the opportunity arises.
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