Gregory Polanco (born September 14, 1991), nicknamed "El Coffee", is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) debut in 2014 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and he also played in NPB for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Professional career

Minor leagues (2009–2014)

Polanco competed in showcases, and played as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

due to his being left-handed. He was asked to rotate to the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

due to a shortage of players, and found that he preferred the position. Polanco signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the Pirates on April 11, 2009. In 2009, he played for the Dominican Pirates of the Rookie-level

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

. In 2010, he played for the

Gulf Coast Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its ...

of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

(GCL), where he had a .202

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. In 2011, he played for the GCL Pirates and the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. T ...

, batting .237. He spent the 2012 season with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. He enjoyed his best season to date, batting .325 with 16

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 40 stolen bases. He was named the South Atlantic League player of the year, and the Pirates' minor league player of the year. Prior to the 2013 season, Polanco was ranked as the 65th best prospect in baseball by

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, and as the 51st best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. Polanco began the 2013 season with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League. With Bradenton, Polanco batted .312 with 24 stolen bases and 30

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) in 57 games, before receiving a promotion to the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League. In June 2013, Baseball Prospectus ranked Polanco as the 12th best prospect in baseball. Polanco, along with

Dilson Herrera Dilson José Herrera García (born March 3, 1994) is a Colombian professional baseball second baseman for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, represented the Pirates at the 2013 All-Star Futures Game. The Pirates promoted Polanco to the Indianapolis Indians of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League at the end of the season. He received nine at-bats with Indianapolis. The Pirates added Polanco to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft. On March 14, 2014, the Pirates

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

Polanco to Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2014–2021)

Polanco was called up to MLB on June 9, 2014, due to an appendix injury to second baseman Neil Walker and made his MLB debut on June 10 playing right field. In that game, he recorded his first career MLB hit against Chicago Cubs pitcher

Travis Wood Travis Alan Wood (born February 6, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and San Diego Padres. Amateur career Born and raise ...

, later scoring his first career MLB run. The following day, June 11, Polanco recorded his first career MLB RBI. On June 13, as part of a five-hit game, Polanco hit his first career MLB home run, a two-run shot, against the Miami Marlins in the 13th inning that would turn out to be the game winner in an 8–6 victory for the Pirates. On June 17, he became the third Pirates player—the first since

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

in 1955—to record a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in each of his first seven MLB appearances. The following day, he became the first Pirate to hit in his first eight games. Polanco struggled for a month after a good start to his career, and was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on August 25 before returning a week later as part of the expanded roster at the beginning of September. On April 5, 2016, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced they had reached an agreement with Polanco and his agent Rafa Nieves on a $35 million contract extension. Polanco finished 2016 with 34 doubles, 22 home runs and 86 RBI. On May 17, 2017, Polanco was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. The transaction was retroactive two days prior to the announcement. On September 12, 2018, Polanco underwent surgery on his dislocated shoulder and missed the remainder of the season. At the time of his injury, Polanco had batted .251/.340/.499 with a career-high 23 home runs in 130 games. Polanco began the 2019 season on the injured list before returning to the Pirates in May. He slashed .242/.301/.425 in 42 games before landing on the injured list again. On July 17, 2019, his rehab progress was halted due to continued shoulder discomfort and he was eventually shut down for the rest of the 2019 season. On July 17, 2020, it was announced that Polanco had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Polanco slashed .153/.214/.325 with 65 strikeouts in 157 at-bats, while placing second in team home runs (7) and RBI (22). Polanco appeared in 107 games in 2021 for the Pirates, hitting .208 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. On August 22, 2021, Polanco was designated for assignment by the Pirates to allow him to play for a contender. However, Polanco cleared waivers and was re-selected to the roster. On August 28, the Pirates released Polanco. Over his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, Polanco appeared in 823 games, hitting .241 with 96 home runs and 362 RBIs, while also stealing 98 bases.

Toronto Blue Jays (2021)

On August 31, 2021, Polanco signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. Polanco played in 24 games for the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, hitting .374 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs. Polanco became a free agent following the season.

Yomiuri Giants

On January 5, 2022, Polanco signed with the

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 27, 2022, Polanco signed with the

World Baseball Classic

He played in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and following the conclusion of the tournament, he was named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team."World Baseball Classic: Previous champs, results, medal count, MVPs, All-WBC teams"
CBS Sports.

Personal life

Polanco is from

Villa Mella Villa Mella (), or San Felipe de Villa Mella, is a municipality in Santo Domingo Norte, Dominican Republic. Villa Mella is located north of the Isabela River, about 6 miles (or 10 kilometers) to the north of the center of Santo Domingo, and is con ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, where both of his parents are police officers. Polanco began dating Africa Rodriguez in 2019. Polanco and Rodriguez have one child, a boy, born March 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polanco, Gregory 1991 births Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Pirates players Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Leones del Escogido players Living people Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Pittsburgh Pirates players State College Spikes players West Virginia Power players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2017 World Baseball Classic players