Polanco, 25, is coming off a season in which he was suspended for 80 games under MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Twins, Jorge Polanco agree to 5-year extension, report says


The Twins and shortstop Jorge Polanco "are putting the finishing touches" on a contract extension that will cover up to seven years, ESPN.com reported Thursday, citing an unidentified league source.

The report appears to show that the Twins consider Polanco, 25, very much a part of their future, coming off a season in which he was suspended for 80 games under MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy.

At least five years of Polanco's deal will be guaranteed and it's "similar to" those signed by the Cardinals' Kolten Wong and the Indians' Jose Ramirez in which the club gets cost certainty by buying out arbitration years as well as potential early free-agent seasons, ESPN reported.

Terms of the deal weren't reported, but, by example, Wong in 2016 signed a $25.5 million contract extension that runs through 2020 and includes an option for 2021 at $12.5 million, buying out three arbitration-eligible seasons, in which he was slated to make the MLB minimum, and two free-agent seasons after that. 

Ramirez and the Indians agreed in 2017 to a five-year, $26 million contract extension that included team options for 2022 and '23. The deal has a maximum value of $50 million, counting the two option years.

Polanco, 25, batted .256/.313/.410 with 13 homers and 74 RBIs in 133 games in 2017, his first full season as the Twins' starting shortstop.

In a suspension-shortened 2018 season, he slashed .288/.345/.427 with six home runs and 42 RBIs in 77 games.

Polanco claimed in a statement last March that his failed PED test was the result of taking a tainted combination of vitamin B12 and an iron supplement from a trainer in his native Dominican Republic.