Jorge Polanco to undergo season-ending ankle surgery after 37 games with the Mets

Jorge Polanco's 2025 season is over. The Mets announced that Polanco will undergo season-ending ankle surgery, ending a run that lasted just 37 games — a number that tells most of the story before you even get to the line.

What happened

The Mets announced that Polanco will have season-ending ankle surgery. Bob Nightengale reported on X that Polanco had been signed specifically to replace Pete Alonso at first base, a role that carried real weight given what Alonso has meant to that franchise. In 37 games, Polanco recorded 20 hits, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI before the ankle brought things to a halt.

The club made the announcement, so this is not a report awaiting confirmation — the Mets said it themselves. What remains unconfirmed is the timeline for recovery, the nature of the procedure beyond the ankle designation, and what the roster picture looks like on the other side of it.

Why it matters

There is a particular kind of roster move that arrives already carrying an asterisk. Signing a player to fill the shoes of a beloved, long-tenured first baseman is one of those assignments where the math is unforgiving from the start. Polanco stepped into that role and then, 37 games later, the ankle made the decision for everyone.

The operational consequence is straightforward: the Mets lose the player they designated as their Alonso replacement for the remainder of the 2025 season. That is not a minor footnote. First base coverage, lineup construction, and the general shape of the roster all shift when a player brought in for a specific purpose exits before the job is finished.

Under general league roster mechanics, a player undergoing season-ending surgery would typically be placed on the 60-day injured list, which removes the player from the 40-man roster count and opens a corresponding spot. The Mets have not specified the IL designation in the announcement as reported by Nightengale, so the precise roster accounting remains to be detailed publicly.

The numbers

Polanco's 2025 line with the Mets: 37 games, 20 hits, 2 home runs, 6 RBI. That is the full season-to-date accounting per Nightengale's report, and it is the only statistical record available for this stint.

The numbers are modest, and context matters here: 37 games is not a long audition. It is enough to establish a presence, not enough to draw sweeping conclusions. Two home runs and 6 RBI across that stretch reflect a player who was finding his footing in a new role at a new position — or at least, that is what 37 games allows you to say without overreaching.

Where the club stands

The Mets enter Wednesday's home game against the San Diego Padres sitting at 65-78 (.455), fifth in the NL East and 20 games back in the division — a race they have already been eliminated from. In the Wild Card picture, they rank 10th, sitting 10.5 games relative to the cut line. They arrive at this moment on a one-game winning streak, which is the kind of streak that earns a polite nod rather than a parade.

The schedule ahead does not offer much in the way of relief. After Wednesday's home date against San Diego — with Robert Stock projected against Michael King — the club heads to Rate Field in Chicago for back-to-back games against the White Sox on Friday and Saturday. Sean Manaea is the projected Friday starter against Sean Burke, with Christian Scott lined up Saturday against Luis Castillo.

None of that changes because of the Polanco news, exactly, but it lands in a particular context: a team that is 65-78, out of the division race, and now without the player it brought in to anchor first base for the season. The remaining schedule becomes less about October positioning and more about what the organization learns between now and the end of the regular season.

What we don't know yet

The announcement, as reported by Nightengale, confirms the surgery and the season-ending nature of it. What it does not confirm: the specific procedure, the expected recovery timeline, whether Polanco is expected to be available for spring training, and what the Mets' plan is at first base for the remainder of 2025.

The roster mechanics — which IL designation, whether a corresponding move has been made, who fills the spot — have not been detailed in the material available to the desk. Those details typically follow an announcement like this, but they have not been reported here.

It is also worth noting that Polanco's longer-term status with the organization is an open question. The nature of his contract, any options or club decisions attached to it, and what the Mets envision for the position going forward are all items that remain unaddressed in the available reporting.

What to watch

### Is there a first base plan for the rest of the season?

The Mets have not announced one, per the available reporting. With 65-78 on the board and the division gone, the urgency is different than it would be in July — but first base still needs to be covered for the remaining games, and the club has not said publicly how it intends to do that.

The September roster expansion, which under general league rules allows clubs to carry 28 players beginning September 1, gives the Mets some flexibility to add depth without the same constraints that apply through August 31. Whether they use that window to address the first base situation specifically is something to monitor as the calendar turns.

The Polanco announcement also arrives as a data point for the offseason. The Mets signed him to solve a specific problem — replacing Alonso at first base — and the solution lasted 37 games before ankle surgery intervened. How the front office evaluates that outcome, and what it means for their approach to the position in 2026, is a question that will not be answered before the season ends but will almost certainly be asked the moment it does.

For now, the desk notes the surgery, the 37 games, the 20 hits, the 2 home runs, the 6 RBI, and the announcement from the club. The rest is still being written — somewhere well past the 2025 calendar.