Mets pause Jorge Polanco’s rehab after left ankle soreness, sends him back for tests

Jorge Polanco’s attempt to return to the New York Mets has been delayed again. On Saturday, the club shut down the veteran first baseman’s rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse after he reported left ankle soreness during the warmup phase of his running progression, and Polanco is returning to New York for further evaluation, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. The pause is another setback in a season that has already required the Mets to patch together at-bats and defensive reps at first base.

Polanco has been dealing with left Achilles bursitis since the start of the year and has been on the injured list since April 18 (retroactive to April 15), according to ’s injury tracker. Earlier in the process, an MRI showed no structural damage to the left Achilles, with inflammation identified around the ligament. The Mets expected the rehab to take time, and Polanco initially began playing through the discomfort before the injury pushed him to the IL.

The rehab plan called for him to build back activity gradually. reported that Polanco began what was expected to be a “lengthy rehab” on May 27 and progressed enough that New York considered the possibility of an activation during the weekend series in San Diego. Mendoza said the club wanted “to continue to build him up,” including at-bats as a designated hitter and innings on defense, and that they would not see Polanco in San Diego.

On Saturday in Syracuse, Polanco noticed discomfort while going through his running progression and alerted trainers before the game against Scranton. Mendoza described the decision as straightforward: Polanco felt it, he got shut down, and the next step was medical review in New York. That means the Mets will have to reassess how the bursitis is responding to rehab and whether additional rest, treatment, or a revised progression is needed before he can rejoin the organization’s active roster.

Polanco’s timeline matters to New York beyond one roster spot. The Mets are already operating shorthanded across multiple positions, with noting that Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Luis Robert Jr. and others have been on the IL. With first base in particular under pressure, the Mets have leaned on internal options, with citing Mark Vientos, Jared Young, and Brett Baty as players filling first-base needs during Polanco’s absence.

The situation is also personal for the Mets on a contract level. Polanco signed a two-year, $40 million deal over the offseason and was envisioned as a primary replacement for Pete Alonso at first base. Through the time he had in the majors this season before the injury sidelined him, Polanco played 14 games for New York, posting a.179 batting average with one home run and five walks, per MLB’s minor-league preview that also detailed his rehab start.

What to watch next is the medical outcome of Polanco’s return to New York and whether the Mets can restart his rehab progression quickly or must step back to a more conservative build. In the near term, New York’s depth at first base and designated hitter is likely to remain in flux, because the club has already shown it will adjust plans based on day-to-day soreness rather than a fixed calendar for activation.