Second baseman Ketel Marte has been in trade rumors all winter but is going to stay in Arizona. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Marte will not be traded. Marte will therefore open the season at the keystone with the Diamondbacks.
This always seemed to be the most likely outcome. Very early in the offseason, general manager Mike Hazen said that other teams would call about Marte and he would listen to their offers but he considered it unlikely that anything would come together.
It’s perfectly understandable why teams would try, as Marte is one of the better players in the game today. Over the past three years, he’s hit 89 home runs. His 11.2% walk rate and 16.7% strikeout rate are both strong figures. His combined line of .283/.368/.519 translates to a 140 wRC+, one of the ten best figures among qualified hitters for that span.
On top of the performance, his contract is team-friendly, relatively speaking. He is owed $102.5MM over the next six seasons, barely over $17MM per year. That’s a decent chunk of change but many other superstar players make between $30 to $50MM annually, which makes the Marte deal a bargain.
That makes him incredibly valuable for the Diamondbacks but there were still reasons to think they might be open to a deal. For one, Marte is on the cusp of ten-and-five rights. A player gets full no-trade protection when they have ten years of service time and have spent the past five seasons with the same club. Marte has been with the Diamondbacks for nine years and is just ten days away from hitting the ten-year service mark. His current deal only allows him to block deals to five clubs. If there was a time for the Snakes to trade Marte, it would be now, as it will be harder in the future.
On top of that, Arizona needs pitching and appears to have a tight budget. There was also some reported clubhouse discord during the 2025 season, as some fellow Snakes appeared disgruntled at Marte’s penchant for missing games. Put it all together and it was at least possible to see the Diamondbacks going down a path where they traded Marte for pitching, while also freeing up some cash for other pursuits, such as their reported interest in Alex Bregman.
Regardless, Hazen would downplay the possibility whenever asked, highlighting that Marte is one of the club’s best players and a key part of their plans to contend. Though he dutifully listened to other clubs, he said a little over a week ago that the club would have to shut the door at some point in order to narrow their focus on building out the 2026 roster. It seems that they never got an offer they considered viable and have officially taken Marte off the market.
Though this is a story about the lack of a move, there are sure to be ripple effects regardless. Teams such as the Pirates, Giants, Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Tigers all reportedly showed some degree of interest in Marte this offseason. Those clubs will have pivot to other options, if they haven’t already. Bregman and Bo Bichette are prominent free agent infielders and some of those clubs have been connected to one or both of that duo. Others could perhaps intensify their pursuits of Brendan Donovan, who is still with the Cardinals.
It also likely removes one suitor from Bregman’s market, as Arizona’s interest in him seemed contingent on them also lining up a Marte trade. Rosenthal reports that it’s still somewhat possible for Arizona to pursue Bregman but not probable. That’s not great for Bregman but the flip side is that a team such as the the Red Sox, who were prominently tied to Marte, might now have to more seriously consider Bregman.
As for the Diamondbacks, they could still use some more pitching, some help in the outfield and/or at first base. With Marte staying put, they are presumably more likely to go after free agents in the coming weeks. RosterResource projects them for a payroll about $20MM below where they finished last year. They are expected to scale back a bit but it’s unclear exactly how much dry powder they have for making additions.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images