The Seattle Mariners' 2025 season ended on October 20, and their offseason technically began when the World Series ended on Saturday. Realistically, though, the proper start to their offseason came on Wednesday morning via a key decision by Jorge Polanco.
The veteran switch-hitter had been mulling whether to pick up a $6 million player option for the 2026 season, and he's officially turned it down to become a free agent. The news was first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
This is an expected development. The $6 million player option was a financial downgrade from the $8 million mutual option that was originally part of Polanco's one-year, $7.