![\"Jorge](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/new-york-mets-jorge-polanco-121841107_f9140e.jpg\")
Jorge Polanco runs drills at first base during a Mets\u2019 spring training practice at Clover Field on Feb. 20, 2026, in Port St. Lucie. Corey Sipkin for NY Post<\/p>\nWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Jorge Polanco has some time to work on the finer points of playing first base \u2014 but not too much time, with Opening Day less than a month away.<\/p>\n
The veteran infielder took another step in that direction Thursday, playing in a simulated game at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie as he looks to get more comfortable as part of the Mets\u2019 shortstop-filled infield.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a little different at the beginning,\u2019\u2019 Polanco said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s to be expected, as the Mets are rolling the dice on Polanco moving to the corner spot \u2014 likely backed up by Mark Vientos and Brett Baty, who are also inexperienced at the position.<\/p>\n
Jorge Polanco runs drills at first base during a Mets\u2019 spring training practice at Clover Field on Feb. 20, 2026, in Port St. Lucie. Corey Sipkin for NY Post<\/p>\n
Vientos played first base in a 5-0 win over Houston at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and made a pair of nice plays. Baty, still working his way back from hamstring tightness, also took part in the simulated game and is expected to get time at first base in a Grapefruit League game soon.<\/p>\n
Polanco, who Carlos Mendoza said would be used as a DH, said he spoke with Carlos Santana to get some first-base pointers. <\/p>\n
Polanco said Santana advised him about the mental challenges of his new position and his responsibilities from pitch to pitch, which are considerably different than they are in the middle of the infield.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most challenging plays, according to Polanco, will be those that involve decision-making, like when to go for a ball hit to his right or let the second baseman get it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to go do it,\u2019\u2019 Polanco said before channeling Ron Washington: \u201cEveryone says first base is easy, but it\u2019s harder than you expect,\u2019\u2019 Polanco said. \u201cBut this is the perfect time to get ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Tyrone Taylor, somewhat of an afterthought in the early part of spring with Luis Robert Jr. set to take over in center field and Carson Benge grabbing most of the attention in right, slammed a three-run homer after getting the start in center. \u2026 Luis Torrens had a pair of hits.<\/p>\n
With Francisco Lindor still out with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand, Ronny Mauricio got the start at shortstop Thursday, and Marcus Semien said he was impressed with Mauricio\u2019s communication in the middle of the infield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Jorge Polanco has some time to work on the finer points of playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[72567,3817,12193,171,173,172,110],"class_list":["post-170935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-jorge-polanco","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}