Second baseman Ketel Marte he’s been in trade rumors all winter but will stay in Arizona. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Marte will not be traded. So Marte will open the season at the top with the Diamondbacks.
This always seemed the most likely outcome. At the beginning of the offseason, general manager Mike Hazen said that other teams would call Marte and he would listen to their offers, but he considered it unlikely that anything would come together.
It’s understandable why teams try, as Marte is one of the better players in the game today. Over the past three years, he has hit 89 home runs. His 11.2% walk rate and 16.7% strikeout rate are both strong stats. His combined line of .283/.368/.519 translates to a 140 wRC+, one of the top ten stats among professional hitters of that era.
On top of performance, his contract fits the team, relatively speaking. He is owed $102.5MM over the next six seasons, just over $17MM per year. That’s a decent change but many other star players make between $30 and $50MM per year, making Marte’s deal a bargain.
That makes him incredibly valuable to the Diamondbacks, but there were reasons to think they might be open to a deal. First, Marte is on the cusp of fifteen rights. A player receives full no-trade protection when he has ten years of service time and has spent the last five seasons with the same team. Marte has been with the Diamondbacks for nine years and is just ten days away from reaching the ten-year service mark. His current deal only allows him to block deals for five clubs. If there was ever a time for snakes to trade on Mars, it would be now, as it will be difficult in the future.
In addition, Arizona needs to be included and appears to have a tight budget. There was also some discord in the clubhouse during the 2025 season, as some Snakes seemed unhappy with Marte’s penchant for missing games. Put it all together and it was at least possible to see the Diamondbacks go down the route of trading Marte for a pitch, while freeing up some money for other pursuits, such as their reported interest in him. Alex Bregman.
However, Hazen would play down the possibility whenever asked, insisting that Marte is one of the club’s best players and an important part of their contention plans. Although he has listened to other clubs in earnest, he said more than a week ago that the club will have to close the door at some point to reduce its focus on building the 2026 roster. It looks like they never got an offer that they consider to work and officially take Marte off the market.
Although this is a story about lack of movement, there will certainly be subtle consequences. Teams like the Pirates, Giants, Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Tigers have all reportedly shown some interest in Marte this offseason. Those clubs will pivot to other options, if they haven’t already. Bregman again Bo Bichette they are prominent footballers and some of those clubs are linked to one or both of those two. Others may be more determined in their pursuit Brendan Donovanwho still goes with the Cardinal.
It may also remove one suitor from Bregman’s market, as Arizona’s interest in him appears to be leaning toward them and them tying up the Marte trade. Rosenthal reports that it’s still possible that Arizona will pursue Bregman, but it’s unlikely. That’s not good for Bregman but the flip side is that a team like the Red Sox, who were heavily tied to Marte, now have to give Bregman more consideration.
As for the Diamondbacks, they could use more pitching, some help in the outfield and/or at first. With Marte staying put, they are likely to pursue free agents in the coming weeks. RosterResource projects their payroll to be about $20MM below where they finished last year. They are expected to retreat a bit but it is not clear how much dry powder they have to make additions.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
