Minnesota Twins: Jorge Polanco undergoes surgery on ankle

The Minnesota Twins’ shortstop went under the knife last week to fix a minor ankle injury and should be ready for opening day.

The Minnesota Twins had a tremendous season in 2019 and one of their brightest spots was shortstop Jorge Polanco. After having his 2018 season wrecked by an 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s PED policy, Polanco received an extension from the Twins and wound up starting for the American League in the All-Star Game.

Polanco’s season rewarded the Twins faith that was instilled after a five-year contract extension prior to spring training and at 26 years old, he has proven to be a key piece in the Twins lineup for years to come.

Like most players, Polanco is using the long offseason to get right and build off his breakout season. That process continued last week as Polanco had a tune-up for an ankle that bothered him throughout the 2019 season. While the shortstop went under the knife to fix a chronic issue, it’s not expected to be a major injury and he’ll be ready for opening day of the 2020 season.

That’s great news for the Twins who enjoyed Polanco’s presence in the lineup that included career highs in batting average (.295), home runs (22) and runs batted in (79) as well as landing him 13th in the American League MVP voting.

Even if Polanco does wind up needing extra time to recover from the procedure, the Twins have plenty of options to allow him to take it with Marwin Gonzalez and Luis Arraez as possible options to hold the fort. Either way, a quick recovery would put the Twins in a great position to remain one of the top teams in the American League next season.