NEW YORK (AP) — Jorge Polanco's first base experience is one pitch, when San Francisco's Wilmer Flores lined a sinker off the end of his bat toward right field in the ninth inning of a tied game last April 6.
“It's just like they always say, whenever you come into the game, the ball always finds you," Polanco recalled through a translator on Monday. "When the ball was hit, I thought it was coming straight to me."
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FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco walks to the dugout after a fly out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in Game 4 of baseball's American League Championship Series, in Seattle, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco reacts after hitting the game-winning RBI-single for J.P. Crawford to score during the 15th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco runs on his two-RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco hits a solo home run off Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
Flores' hit was way too far toward second for Polanco to have a chance and gave San Francisco a walk-off win over Seattle.
First base figures to be Polanco's primary position next year as Pete Alonso's replacement following Polanco's decision to sign a $40 million, two-year contract with the Mets.
“I was offering my services to teams as a first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, so when the Mets asked if I was able to do that, play a little bit of first, play a little bit third, I was definitely willing to do that,” Polanco said a Zoom news conference.
Alonso, a fan favorite and a five-time All-Star, left the Mets as a free agent for a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore.
Asked whether he expects first base will be his primary position, Polanco responded: “I would think so. ... They told me that I’d be playing a good amount of first base, but that I could also be bouncing around.”
A 32-year-old switch-hitter who has batted .260 against righties and .270 against lefties, Polanco was an All-Star in 2019 and set career bests three years later when he had 33 homers and 98 RBIs.
He was primarily a shortstop through 2020 and then a second baseman from 2020-24. Last year, he started mostly at designated hitter for the Mariners, who came within one win of their first World Series trip.
Mariners bench coach Manny Acta and infield coach Perry Hill approached Polanco this year about preparing for time at first.
“It was very easy because I had already spoken to my agent about starting to work out at first and trying to become a more versatile baseball player,” Polanco said. “So when we approached them, they were essentially approaching us at the same time. So it was real easy and a really seamless transition.”
Polanco hit .265 with 26 home runs, 78 RBIs, 30 doubles and an .821 OPS in 138 games for Seattle last season, his second with the Mariners following a decade with Minnesota.
While he didn't get to start at first, he found work with the coaches invaluable.
“The biggest difference is the position that you get in to receive pickoffs,” he said. “That was toughest transition for me because it’s very different from when you’re playing in the middle of the infield. But I think with my experience of playing second, short, third, it allows me to be an athlete and I think that my athleticism will help me while I’m playing first base.”
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FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco walks to the dugout after a fly out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in Game 4 of baseball's American League Championship Series, in Seattle, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco reacts after hitting the game-winning RBI-single for J.P. Crawford to score during the 15th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco runs on his two-RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
FILE - Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco hits a solo home run off Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday will decide whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be returned to immigration custody after being free for just over a week.
“This is an extremely irregular and extraordinary situation," U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, of Maryland, told attorneys.
The Monday hearing was a glimpse into the complexity of immigration proceedings as Xinis tried to get information on the status of Abrego Garcia’s case. “I am trying to get to the bottom of whether there are going to be any removal proceedings,” she said as she questioned the government’s lawyer. “You haven’t told me what you’re going to do next."
Abrego Garcia, his wife and legal team were welcomed to the federal court building in Maryland by a boisterous reception that included a choir, bullhorn and drum as scores of supporters cheered. His mistaken deportation to El Salvador has become a lightning rod for both sides of the immigration debate. Inside the courtroom Abrego Garcia sat with at least half a dozen defense team members while a lone government attorney sat across from them.
Abrego Garcia had been in immigration detention since August before his Dec. 11 release. In that time, the government has said it planned to deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and, most recently, Liberia. However, officials have made no effort to deport him to the one country he has agreed to go to — Costa Rica. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, in Maryland, has even accused the government of misleading her by falsely claiming that Costa Rica was unwilling to take him.
The government's “persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take him, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose was behind his detention, it was not for the ‘basic purpose’ of timely third-country removal,” she wrote.
In court on Monday, Abrego Garcia's reiterated that he is prepared to go to Costa Rica “today.”
Xinis’ Dec. 11 order that Abrego Garcia be released from immigration custody also concluded that the immigration judge who heard his case in 2019 had failed to issue an order of removal from the U.S., and he cannot be deported anywhere without a removal order.
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to his home country, finding he faced danger there from a gang that had targeted his family. In March, he was mistakenly deported there anyway. U.S. officials resisted calls to bring him back until the Supreme Court weighed in. However, officials have said he cannot stay in the U.S. and have vowed to deport him to a third country.
In filings last week, government attorneys argued that, with or without a final order of removal, they are still working to deport Abrego Garcia, so they can legally detain him during the process.
“If there is no final order of removal, immigration proceedings are ongoing, and Petitioner is subject to pre-final order detention,” they wrote.
For their part, Abrego Garcia's attorneys cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “because immigration proceedings ‘are civil, not criminal’ detention must be ‘nonpunitive.’” They argued that in Abrego Garcia's case, detention is punitive because the government wants to be allowed to hold him indefinitely without a viable plan to deport him.
“If immigration detention does not serve the legitimate purpose of effectuating reasonably foreseeable removal, it is punitive, potentially indefinite, and unconstitutional,” they wrote.
In addition to the Maryland case, Abrego Garcia is fighting human smuggling charges in a Tennessee court. His attorneys in that case on Friday asked the judge for sanctions after Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino made disparaging comments about their client on national news. The judge previously ordered Justice Department and Homeland Security officials to cease making comments that could prejudice Abrego Garcia's right to a fair trial.
Loller reported from Nashville, Tenn.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Immigrant activists rally outside of the United States District Court District of Maryland in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia cries during a rally ahead of a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia waits to enter the building for a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia listens during a rally ahead of a mandatory check at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after he was released from detention on Thursday under a judge's order. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
