Diamondbacks manager Mike Hazen said in late December that the club would “soon” end all trade talks involving the second baseman. Ketel Marteand the unofficial deadline apparently came on January 9, after reports surfaced that Marte would stay. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this didn’t completely end the trade speculation, but as the offseason player market continued to unfold over the past eight days, Hazen maintained his stance that negotiations are over.
“We are already involved in that process. I said at that time I set a deadline for a reason, to avoid this,” Hazen told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters. Hazen also noted that by telling both Marte’s management and rivals that trade talks are over, he would be jeopardizing his credibility (both with the D’Backs and in future negotiations) by going back on his word now.
It’s worth noting that there have been several instances in the past of players being traded after the front office appeared to shut down trade talks – perhaps the most famous in recent years was Nationals GM Mike Rizzo declaring “we do not trade Juan Soto” Two months before Soto actually faced the Padres at the trade deadline of 2022. It is also reasonable to think that Hazen will have a hard time saying no if another team shows up in the coming days with a trade offer for Marte that was absurdly inclined in Arizona.
That said, there’s no reason to doubt Hazen’s determination in this case. While some reports surfaced last summer about clubhouse discontent directed at Marte, it didn’t seem very likely that the Diamondbacks would trade the star player they signed to another long-term extension last April. This new extension (covering the 2025-31 seasons) voids Marte’s previous deal that ran through the 2027 campaign, and adds $64MM in new money.
$102.5MM remains in the final six years of the contract, and if Marte had been a free agent this winter, he would have topped that figure as he enters his age-32 season. This relatively discounted price makes Marte an attractive alternative for teams that may not have been impressed by free agent options, or were unwilling to meet the asking prices of players on the market. Teams such as the Red Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Rays, Phillies, Pirates, and Giants have been publicly linked to the Marte trade market, although Pittsburgh and San Francisco are two of the five teams on Marte’s no-trade list.
The Pirates may be out of Marte after the buyout Brandon Lowe to address their secondary needs. The same would be true of the Rays (after getting Gavin Lux) and the Jays (after adding Kazuma Okamoto in the infield mix), but some rumor mills may play if the Diamondbacks still have interest in Marte.
Most notably, the Red Sox and Phillies failed in their pursuit Alex Bregman again Bo Bichetteleaving those two teams perhaps most in need of big-ticket arena development. For the Sox in particular, Gilbert noted that Boston’s signing of the Guard Suarez signing led to many D’Backs fans immediately wondering if the Red Sox would now be comfortable sending a controllable pitcher to Arizona for Marte.
On the other hand, of course, any growing desperation on the part of other teams could cause Hazen to raise what was already known to be a very high asking price for Marte’s services. But, the hack period now appears to be over on Hazen’s part, and (barring any unforeseen events) it appears that Marte will simply return to the heart of the Diamondbacks’ roster in 2026.
