Jorge Polanco wants to pick Keith Hernandez’s brain about playing first base

The New York Mets are not trying to replace Pete Alonso in the aggregate, but they’re attempting to teach Jorge Polanco first base. If you ask Ron Washington, it’s “incredibly hard,” but unlike Scott Hatteberg, the former Seattle Mariners utility player isn’t moving from catcher to a corner.

Like many baseball players before him, Polanco — who is a middle infielder by nature — is attempting to make a seamless transition over to first base. While many fans were perplexed by the notion that the Mets wanted to focus on run prevention in building out their 2026 roster and then fulfilled that goal by signing a player to play first base who’s never played first base before, Polanco might actually look the part.

Jorge Polanco looks pretty smooth at first base during infield drills #Mets pic.twitter.com/DAfZ4pNuMp

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) February 19, 2026

But there’s a difference between being in the best shape of your life in Port St. Lucie and turning double plays in Queens. The 32-year-old Polanco is incredibly aware of that, which is why he’s seeking out the advice of an 11-time Gold Glove winner in Keith Hernandez.

The 72-year-old Hernandez was back in the booth on Saturday for the Mets’ spring training opener. He recently signed a three-year extension with SportsNet New York (SNY), but will reduce his workload from 110 games to 90 or so moving forward. But that reduced workload might come with the added caveat of helping out a newcomer at first base.

“I would love to talk to him and pick his brain,” Polanco told the New York Post’s Mike Puma.

“Perfect,” Hernandez said when reached by the Post regarding Polanco’s interest.

Hernandez knows what it takes to master the position, and Polanco knows he needs all the help he can get to avoid becoming a defensive liability like his predecessor. At the very least, Polanco’s already seeking guidance from someone who actually knows how to play the position at an elite level.

“I’ll let him ask the questions,” Hernandez added.

Polanco has logged zero innings at first base in his major league career. The Mets are easing him into the position, especially coming off knee surgery in 2024, which is why manager Carlos Mendoza expects the DH to be “in-play, big-time” for Polanco.

“Not only is he going to be first base, especially with him having a major surgery not too long ago. He’ll get DH at-bats,” Mendoza said. “But again, I think him just getting familiar with the position, we gotta get him reps, and we gotta get him comfortable. Not going to run him through the ground.”

“I think that DH is going to be in play big-time with him”

Carlos Mendoza talks about how many DH at-bats Jorge Polanco will get and says that Brett Baty and Mark Vientos will get reps at first base when Polanco is not playing the position pic.twitter.com/e034eXFsqI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 21, 2026

Which makes Hernandez’s willingness to help all the more valuable. Polanco will need every rep and every bit of coaching he can get to make this experiment work.