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
Marte is underpaid, when compared with others.
Arizona couldn’t get enough in return for his value. Pretty simple.
It’s really hard to see how the team would be better without him.
Oh my you’re right, I didn’t realize he’s just getting around 16 mill per and that on a contract signed last year or so after he’d already compiled a couple 6 WAR seasons. Big bad Boras wouldn’t have let that fly, not sure why the former Wasserman group saw it as wise. It makes his value doubly exciting. Maybe an org as rich in prospects as the Dodgers could answer that price but they’re not going to enrich a div rival. He’s going nowhere.
His contract has very heavy incentive based escalators.
He only received 6mil of the 33mil from the first season, which greatly reduced the expected contract value. But he has 82.5mil remaining.
WCSox, both B-ref and Fangraphs have him at nowhere near 32 million deferred or not. 6/105 or 7/116 on roster resource for an even lower AAV of 14.6 (not sure why they’d have agreed to a final club option year at 11 million but that’s what’s posted). Gee, I thought Jose Ramirez was a club friendly underpay. Anyway, not sure what I’m missing but I’m surprised by this contract.
@pickles
Not sure where you got the ’32 million’ number from, but I recommend sticking to roster resource (part of fangraphs) or Cots (for more detailed information) if you’re interested in player contracts.
The 2031 option is a player option – not a club option.
In my post I was referring exclusively to the escalators in Marte’s contract. The 82.5mil number is in ADDITION to the base contract – although he would have to be a top-3 MVP candidate and reach 625 PA in each of the next 5 seasons to reach the full amount (~30 mil extra is a more reasonable prediction).
Jose Ramirez has a very club-friendly contract. at 69mil over the next 3 years. I’m sure it would cost a fair bit more to acquire Jose Ramirez but he has a no trade clause and doesn’t seem interested in waiving it.
I agree. Sometimes you let someone offer you a trade package that might entice you to see if they’re over the moon about someone. But very few scenarios would involve being better next year. Marte makes them better vs prospects or multi-player water down deal.
Yeah I definitely wouldn’t trade Marte either.
Sure you would. There’s always a price
Finally unfreezes the market and hopefully leads to the Cardinals getting a haul for Donovan.
What kind of a haul do you think they’ll get
Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong. Oh wait!
If they really ask nicely they might even be able to get Jeter Downs as a sweetener!
A better one than if Marte remained on the market, at least.
That’s a good point I was just curious if the asking price had been reported or what people thought might be fair
well Seattle already said they were willing to give up Cijntje and I imagine another prospect…if Boston loses out on Bregman i would think maybe they would offer up Witherspoon and another prospect…but either of those two pitchers as the frontline would be ok in my book
Donovan has similar value to Jazz when he was traded to the Yankees for Abrahan Ramirez (minors), Jared Serna (minors) and Agustín Ramírez.
What Kind of haul are you expecting for a slightly above average player?
Donovan is an above average player who will get a similar return to Randy Arozarena. Cardinals will continue to hold out hoping to fleece a team and he’ll end up staying put in Stl. They’ll trade him at the deadline when they end up on a 75 win pace for .70 cents of what they could have gotten now. This is why the Cardinals have been regressing as an organization.
I don’t know if you heard but Mo is no longer in charge…Bloom is and he has already got the cardinals minor league as a top 10 for sure if not a top 5
Fan take. Cards are still not a top 10 system and little Bloom has done except shipping out guys any GM would have moved in a rebuild they announced last year to improve it.
The get on Donavan might put them on the cusp of top 10 but TBD
I lol every time I see these comments. Hopefully GM’s aren’t as foolish as fans when it comes to this guy.
I don’t think the Cardinals will get a haul for Donovan. He’s good, boarding on very good. But he’s not elite, he’s a super utility player and will likely get a teams AAAA SP and a prospect outside of their top 10.
@mariners I think you’re close to right but being that there’s a good amount of interest I think the prospect could be in the top ten(which for some clubs doesn’t mean as much)
I agree with your opinion on Donovan, but it’s already been reported that SEA would trade Cijntje as part of a pkg for BD. As a STL fan, I don’t know what the holdup is. I’d take that trade now.
well Seattle already said they were willing to give up Cijntje..I don’t think he is a AAAA SP but i guess you never know
Allegedly. No one ever really says who they’d give up.
Cijntje needs to focus on throwing RH only, his switch pitching is holding him back. He’s much better throwing RH. For the M’s he’s an emergency spot starter who can shuttle up from Tacoma when needed.
well they reported it so…plus it would probably at least take him to get Donovan…if not the cardinals keep him…but hey you know more than what is reported so…
recent MLB trade rumors (late December 2025/early January 2026) indicate the Seattle Mariners are reportedly willing to include top pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje as a key piece in a potential package to acquire St. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan, though Seattle prefers not to trade current MLB talent, and the deal’s status is uncertain. Cijntje, a switch-pitcher, is a significant prospect, but the Mariners view him as expendable to get Donovan, a versatile infielder they need to replace Jorge Polanco.
bangarangbooty—
Problem is that Donovan is much the lesser than Marte, Bichette, Hoerner, Chisholm or Bregman (yes, I know Alex plays 3b), so Cardinals are not getting the high-end prospects they’re hoping for. But St. Louis will move him.
Not a surprise.
Ketel…mo loves ya in Arizona, Marte!!
The outcome we all expected.
Happy the Dbacks haven’t traded him this off season. It would’ve caused a ton of unrest with an already unhappy fan base. Still waiting to see what they do for 1B and 3B though. Would love Goldy on a 1 year deal and Bregman on a 3-5 year deal, move Blaze to CF, Carroll to RF and probably McCarthy to LF til Gurriel is back. DH is still a complete unknown as Pavin Smith is not a complete hitter. Maybe bring Grichuk back? 🤷♂️
The plan might be to DH Del Castillo right now
I wouldn’t mind ADC as the DH but that means Pavin Smith is the every day RF or he’s getting traded. Lovullo has a hard on for Pavin for some reason. Maybe a Lawlar/ADC coupling could be good with Lawlar getting 20%-30% of the at bats and he can fill in at 3B or 2B when needed too.
Ar I zon A Ar I zon A… dormez vous, dormez vous?
We would sing this song boisterfully at Little Scoundrels camp as we filled our bellies with porridge.
This was the right decision all along
The thought of every large market team fan salivating about every good player that they don’t already have is nauseating. Glad he’s staying put.
It’s interesting that we don’t usually think of it as a large market, but Phoenix is consistently right outside the top ten in TV market size in the US.
Definitely not small, I agree.
I’m happy he’s staying in AZ as well. He’s an excellent player who would make almost any team better. And he kills the Dodgers every time they play.
The whole taking days off thing, once explained in detail, sounding more like a lack of communication during a stressful time than anything. That isn’t the big deal it’s been made out to be. If that’s the only issue.
Exactly what I said! Now go get either Ozuna or Arraez or bader. Then sign a pitcher!
I’m not sure any of those batters make the Diamondbacks better in a meaningful way. Ozuna is aging and locks DH down, increasing the injury risk on other veterans like Marte. Bader is the best shot to move the needle, but there are plenty of young guys on the roster capable of breaking out to his production in a utility role already (Lawlar, Blaze, Troy, etc.) while costing far less. Arraez actively hurts the offense as his only skill is getting on base, but with zero speed, he slows Perdomo and Carroll down.
If Arraez fits anywhere it’s hitting behind Carroll and Perdomo who are threats to turn Arraez singles into 1st to 3rd and 2nd to home.
@Can Why would you bat Arreaz in front of Marte though? Or Moreno? If they sign him, he’d have to be a bottom half of the order bat, minimizing his value. I just don’t see the fit.
He’s got big Rockies or Angels vibes to me. Rockies moreso. Unique, fun to look at play style, but no real value to teams trying. And the Angels just always seem to end up with names bigger than their Anageim impact (although I’m hopeful that might be changing in a post Rendon world).
I disagree respectfully. Ozuna is a beast and only 35. But an Arraez can bat anywhere Batting Perdomo Arrez 3rd would even work. Especially since Perdomo and Carroll get on. I rather him bat 1st though. We also need pitching! Its insane to see our staff and pen and think we have a shot
Thats exactly right!
@Taker “only 35” made me chuckle out loud. I hope he continues to be as good as you want him to be. He’s had a fun career. He’s saved my fantasy teams more than once too!
But Arraez is the definition of empty batting average. It’s just all negative value outside of singling. Maybe batting behind Carroll and Perdomo the team scores 20ish more runs in a season, but he kills rallies by only being able to move 90 feet at a time. It would almost be better to have him single then get thrown out trying to take the extra base… Man now I kind of want to see that play out on the field!
I mean no disrespect. I just don’t see his play profile as useful to a team that plays best with speed on the basepaths and chaos in their hearts.
Thats cool lol. Wr agree to disagree. I feel 35 is more than capable as a DH to do well. If he was in the field its different. Also I rather have a batting champion then tim tawa and Vargas. I feel him in Arizona would be perfect with the players around him. Guess we will see.
The only problem with comparing him to Tawa and Vargas is they have versatility he doesn’t. Tawa can get by in the OF (he shouldn’t, but can…) and Vargas is “capable” of playing every infield position. Arraez is basically a DH-only bat with no power that teams delude themselves into putting at 1B. All are flawed. Building a team is making those flaws minimal in actuality. It’s why Hazen gets paid a lot of money to actually do what we get to fantasize about in comments sections.
Smart move Marte is a top 10 batter in the game.
Even if you add the best pitcher-only players in the game, I’m not sure he leaves the Top 10. He’s an absolute stud.
lol no
Tied for 9th in wRC+ for qualified hitters over the span of 2023-2025 (tied with Vlad Jr)
Let’s go!
Hazen couldn’t get the return he was looking for coupled with team’s hesitation over his clubhouse presence is why he is staying put. I do wonder how being dangled on the trade market for most of the offseason will affect him moving forward
This way was Hazen’s only move left. But it doesn’t mean a trade isn’t possible. There has to be some reason for the teams to pay more, and having him off the market gives the leverage back to the Dbacks in a sort of way.
Arizona knew that Marte had a lot of value and thought they could get a truckload of talent for him. I guess they didn’t get exactly what they wanted and backed off. It may affect the relationship the D’backs have with Marte going forward but they can just say they were doing their due diligence and, in the end, valued Marte more than what other teams offered.
Do you write novels? I don’t think it was that difficult a decision. They listened and the offers weren’t overwhelming so the passed.
I’m not sure what offers they received or how close they got to making a trade. I’m just saying that putting your star player on the trading block in the first place can be seen as a risky move.
IMO Very good player…not a superstar worth $30-50M/year. Makes sense for Arizona to keep him unless they get an offer they can’t refuse comes along.
Just for fun, this winter teams are paying about $11M/WAR. Marte had 4.4 bWAR and 4.6 fWAR in 2025 (only 126 games played). He plays for an oft-forgotten middle of the pack team, so he gets overlooked, but he’s defo a superstar when healthy. And generally he’s mostly healthy in a given year so long as AZ isn’t trying to play him in the OF.
Good info…I found a little lower, but still fits your statement at his 4.7 WAR. For the 2026 MLB season, the perceived value is around $7.7 million to $8 million per WAR for top free agents, though overall league cost per WAR can average lower. That’s a lot of moo-lah/WAR
Are you pulling those from Fangraphs? Those numbers are from several years ago and they haven’t updated them. It’s probably somewhere in between. But what do we know as fans? Only what’s publicly available.
He would easily get over $30/ year if he were a free agent
Dodgers are NOT trading Ohtani. He will remain with the team at least through spring training.
@Bivouac-Sal
The rumours I’ve heard from no one connected to MLB confirm this rumour.
That is the consensus among the experts.
Huge if true
This is kind of a classic valuation issue. He’s already 32. “his contract is team-friendly, relatively speaking. He is owed $102.5MM over the next six seasons, barely over $17MM per year”
So, what’s the right offer for him? you can’t expect him to produce at current levels through the life of the deal, but he can give you surplus value now–does he become a DJM later, or gracefully decline? How much in prospects should you pay?
Put it differently–would the dynamics change in he had 3 years at 20M left? Worth more or less?
I could imagine their asking price was out of this world so not a shock
So – welcome back to Boston, Bregman?
With any luck this will stop the wait… but with the way this offseason has gone I’m almost expecting us to trade with the Cards again for Arenado…
I have a deferral dollars question. Marte is owed $103.5 million on his contract but $41 million is deferred. If he or some other player with such large deferrals is traded who pays the deferred money? Does that money still get paid by the team that signed the player and deferred the money? Or does the new team have to take on that $$. I’m 95% sure its the team that signed them but I would like to be 100% so I feel less like a dunce since my favorite team refuses to defer money so it’s not something they discuss.
The deferral arrangements are part of the contract and those obligations would follow from team to team. Of course financial elements in any trade are negotiable. The Dbacks could, for example, include cash to the “new” team as part of any deal.
Get Bregman anyway
They still need a quality bat at either 3B or 2B (maybe 1B), so they need to open up the coffers a bit for Bregman or Bichette ideally, or trade for some like Donovan (like the article said). They will not be competitive rolling with Alexander, Lawlar, Thomas, and Smith taking up the at bats currently available.
Too bad, I would have liked to see Bregman in Arizona.
MLBTBS clickbait.
It is a trade rumor.. on a site about trade rumors. The GM was quoted as saying he was fielding trade inquiries but a deal was unlikely. Every article I recall seeing on MLBTR mentioned that a deal seemed unlikely. What’s the issue?
It was a big nothing is what I am saying. Designed to get clicks, which is how these things work.
And here is Candlestoked, telling us how “clickbait” “works” while he feeds the algorithm; well-played, sir.
“Marte is on the cusp of ten-and-five rights.” He’s been in the majors for almost ten years now? Thanks for smacking me in the face with being old.
I my mind his departure was never realistic and I’ve said so.
Welcome back to Boston, Breggy
LAF
No surprise. They weren’t getting a haul especially with his age at the end of his deal and the reported clubhouse issues.
As long as the Dodgers spend like they’re playing with Monopoly money while the rest of the league lives in reality, no team has a realistic chance to compete with them right now. AZ should’ve fire saled for massive haul in prospects to compete on three to four seasons. Attack LA once their stars are older and less effective, especially when that deferred money goes into effect. That is, unless the league lets LA find another loophole out of the financial consequence those contracts should incur.
That’s too bad. Players are like pokemon cards and should always be traded. I think MLB needs to impose a rule that requires all players to change teams after every season is over.
Hahahahaha
Snakes will take a big step back in 2026 even with Marte. Smith, Alexander, Del Castro, Lawlar, Thomas, McCarthy, McCann, Tawa … outside of 4 players that positional roster is brutal. The rotation isn’t much better. I would still actively try to move Marte. 2027 will be a lost year w/ lockout. So best case scenario is 2028 for healthy competitive roster and Marte is 34 and in decline and has lost significant value. If a reasonable deal comes along between today and the deadline, move him.
The only thing that hurts the Diamondbacks is he is a 10/5 guy early in the season. That type of talent with that contract is not worth trading unless you get a Godfather offer. With the turmoil coming up and teams looking for controllable players at value he is worth a ton.
And , it will eventually be reported that the Diamondbacks will not reach far into the playoffs if make them at all within the next 5 years. It will also be reported that the GM or whatever moronic title they are using to justify running the team into a lukewarm state, will be fired or let go. ( not sure when that will happen but it will ).
The time to trade Marte is now.
The team is 4 years removed from only winning 50 some odd games and have essentially hovered around .500 for the last 3 years. You don’t have enough pieces to make a push through the playoffs and reach the World Series. You aren’t rebuilding but you should be rearranging players and pieces and attempting to put the puzzle together better than you have it together currently.
Maybe that takes moving Marte, maybe it doesn’t but one thing is for certain, you’re never gonna get more for him than what you will right now. So if you truly are closing the door on a Marte trade then for your sake , I hope you have some minor leaguers waiting to step into your weaknesses because they are plentiful and with no resolution in sight.
As currently constructed, the Dbacks are heavily reliant on several young position players taking a big step forward – Lawler, Alexander, Tawa, Smith, Thomas, McCarthy, etc. They are also reliant on several young arms acquired at last years trade deadline. At a minimum, the Dbacks need more, and better, SPs and RPs. That said, since it was mentioned that they were a 50+ win team four years ago, its worth noting they were a World Series team two years ago.
More lucrative market at the trade deadline
Marte is a much better bat than Bregman at any price. The only thing I will say is that sometimes the injuries can start and things sort of decline. His slary will pick up n his later yrs and is signed to age 36 with an 11.5 option to age 37. Not sure how his fielding is these days. It is an interesting contract that goes to peak in his last 3 yrs. AZ was tricky with this contract.
It’s dumb of them to trade him really he’s a top 5 player at his position making pennies on the dollar.
The Dbacks owner wants to cut salary while also competing for a title. Hazen’s only chance to do both was to tempt someone to overpay for Marte. Only issue was that no one took the bait. Hazen tried to bluff his way into a good deal but other teams figured out pretty quickly Hazen didn’t have the leverage to get his asking.
Jazz trade value just climbed even higher. I can see a team like the Pirates or Reds offering up a solid starter, back up RH hitting catcher, and low level prospect for Jazz and JC Escarra.
They were just trolling everybody.
So why didn’t they sign Murakami then? He was so cheap and they need a 1B/3b? What a missed opportunity. They could have also taken a flier on that Japanese pitcher that went back to Japan.