$7.75M Mariners star’s resurgence linked to Edgar Martinez by MLB vet

Veteran MLB analyst Trevor Plouffe gave credit where it was due, highlighting Edgar Martinez’s influence on Jorge Polanco’s early-season success. Polanco is hitting .384, along with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. He's on a one-year, $7.75 million deal with a vesting option next season.

Martinez is currently working as the senior director of hitting strategy coach for the Seattle Mariners and seems to be leaving his mark and helping Mariners stars unlock the next level.

On Wednesday's episode of Baseball Today, Plouffe pointed towards Polanco’s swing mechanics, which have the fingerprints of Martinez’s "old-school" coaching philosophy all over them.

"We owe some snaps for Edgar Martinez — he deserves some," Plouffe said (13:20 onwards). "You know, the changes that Polanco has made this year — and again, I’ll reference just when you watch him hit — you can compare videos. There are videos out there right now, side by side, of where his hands were going last year — kind of behind his body, way, way back behind his stride.

"Now, everything is tight and in sync. And again, that's just a simpler swing. So, you have the ability to put the barrel on the ball more. That’s definitely an Edgar Martinez thing. When you've got guys that have been in the trenches as your hitting coach and are kind of old school, that’s what they’re going to do right away — eliminate some of the movement."

Jorge Polanco credits Edgar Martinez after two-HR night

Jorge Polanco was named the AL Player of the Week and celebrated that by crushing two home runs the very next day. On Tuesday night, Polanco helped the Mariners to a 5-3 win at T-Mobile Park. All five runs scored were RBIs off Polanco's shots.

The win gave Seattle their 13th victory in 17 games, and no team is hotter in MLB than them at the moment.

A big credit to Polanco's resurgence in 2025 goes to Edgar Martinez, and the slugger has no qualms testifying to that.

“When Edgar got here, he just preached on that approach,” Polanco said. “Everybody knew who Edgar was, so we just listened to him, trying to work on that. So I took it into the offseason.”

The change in swing mechanics and pre-delivery stance seems to have made a positive impact on Polanco's swing, which is driving results in the Mariners' favor.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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Edited by Bhargav