He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in NPB for the Yomiuri Giants.

[6] Polanco began the 2013 season with the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

[9] The Pirates promoted Polanco to the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League at the end of the season.

[7] The Pirates added Polanco to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft.

[14] Polanco struggled for a month after a good start to his career, and was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on August 25 before returning a week later as part of the expanded roster at the beginning of September.

[15][16] On April 5, 2016, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced they had reached an agreement with Polanco and his agent Rafa Nieves on a $35 million contract extension.

[21] On July 17, 2019, his rehab progress was halted due to continued shoulder discomfort and he was eventually shut down for the rest of the 2019 season.

[23][24][25] In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Polanco slashed .153/.214/.325 with 65 strikeouts in 157 at-bats, while placing second in team home runs (7) and RBI (22).

[30] Over his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, Polanco appeared in 823 games, hitting .241 with 96 home runs and 362 RBIs, while also stealing 98 bases.

[citation needed] On August 31, 2021, Polanco signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.