March 2: Kansas City has officially announced Marte’s one-year contract. It’s a $1MM guarantee that comes with another $2MM in bonuses, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Half of that money comes with roster bonuses and the other half through incentives.
February 28: Starling Marte and the Royals have agreed to a one-year, Major League contract. Financial terms of the agreement aren’t yet known. The deal will be finalized once Marte passes a physical, and the Royals will have to make another transaction to clear space on their 40-man roster for the Klutch Sports client.
2025 was the last season of Marte’s four-year, $78MM contract with the Mets, and while Marte was hopeful of playing for multiple more years, there hadn’t been any public buzz about his free agent market over the winter. Now, the 37-year-old has landed with a Kansas City club whose interest in the former two-time All-Star dates back to last winter, when the Royals had some talks with the Mets about a possible trade.
Marte’s tenure in New York was defined by injuries, as he played in only 396 games during his four-year stint. Groin problems were the source of most of Marte’s issues, as surgery on both his left and right groin muscles following the 2022 season didn’t entirely correct the problem, as the injury resurfaced in 2023. Marte also missed time due to a neck strain, migraines, and a bone bruise in his right knee, and the Mets responded to Marte’s lower-body injuries by making him essentially a full-time DH in 2025.
Marte still made 12 appearances in the outfield last year, and given the Royals’ need for outfield help, Kansas City could consider giving him slightly more time on the grass in 2026. After acquiring both the switch-hitting Isaac Collins and the right-handed hitting Lane Thomas this winter, the Royals’ primary outfield looks like Collins in left field, defensive specialist Kyle Isbel in center, and Thomas and lefty-swinging Jac Caglianone perhaps in a platoon situation in right field. Salvador Perez and top prospect Carter Jensen will handle the catching duties, and whomever isn’t behind the plate will likely get plenty of DH at-bats.
It would add up to another part-time role for Marte, though there’s value in having a veteran bat on the roster. Caglianone struggled badly in his first exposure to big league pitching in 2025, and Thomas is coming off essentially a lost year due to injuries in 2025. Thomas’ top season was his 28-homer campaign with the Nationals in 2023, but he has posted just a 98 wRC+ over 1900 plate appearances over the last four seasons. Collins is also far from a sure thing, as his impressive 2025 rookie season with the Brewers came despite some hard-contact issues that were perhaps obscured by a .326 BABIP.
Marte hasn’t looked like a true top-tier hitter since 2022, but he still managed a respectable .269/.331/.398 slash line and 16 homers over 699 PA during the 2024-25 seasons, translating to a 108 wRC+. Marte is still making hard contact at an above-average rate, even if his power (and his Statcast metrics on the whole) have fallen off.
Whether or not Marte can maintain even this decent production into his 15th Major League season remains to be seen, of course. It can be argued that Collins, Thomas, and Marte couldn’t help but be upgrades for K.C. given how little the Royals have gotten from their outfield mix in the last few years, plus Caglianone is still a highly-touted prospect with breakout potential.
Marte’s next contract will surely be worth only a few million dollars in guaranteed money, with probably some bonus clauses built in based on plate appearances. The Royals’ payroll currently sits at around $149.2MM (as per RosterResource‘s estimates), which represents a modest increase over their $139.8MM figure from 2025. This tracks with owner John Sherman’s comments from October about the payroll likely staying in the same general range, which naturally left the front office a little limited in what they could do in pursuing needed lineup help.
Reporter Yancen Pujols first broke the news that Marte and the Royals were in contract talks. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (multiple links) reported that the deal was in place, and that Marte had inked a guaranteed contract.
I don’t understand.
Me, neither. No better options all winter through both free agency not trades.
It’s not just that they signed him, it’s that they plan on playing him in the OF.
It’s $1 million, which is great for you and me, but I’m surprised he didn’t get a better offer.
Marte’s better than most of their OF’s currently, and is at least capable of playing any of the three of spots (for short periods). It’s a smart signing to add him to the mix. I could see him getting 400-500 abs for them this season.
So, a guy who’s username questions Tucker’s ability to stay healthy thinks that a 37-year-old Marte will get 400-500 at bats. And thinks he can play center field. Ok
Wake up, Rip Van Winkle… its 2026. Marte is long past being able to play center or right, and is terrible in left. He can’t stay healthy in general, but even less so when he plays the field. If they needed a short-side platoon DH bat, Marte might be a piece of the equation. But if they don’t, he is little more than a waste of a roster spot.
Haven’t they reached the bottom of the FA barrel yet? How much crud can still be in there?
Geofft-And I’m saying he’ll hit enough to secure not only a roster spot, but regular playing time for the Royals, as well as logging at least a few innings at each of spot this season.
Let’s see who’s right.
Okay. Let’s see. While he may or may not hit enough to secure a roster spot and get semi-regular at bats, he will log zero innings in CF and so few in the other OF spots that it will be a moot point. Not even sure he maintains a spot in the lineup all season long. If the Royals are in contention, they could very well dump him and acquire someone more useful. If they aren’t, they might dump him to give playing time to the younger players.
Unclemike, the Fangraphs Free Agent Tracker currently shows the crud at the bottom of the FA barrel to consist of 52 unsigned free agents, but that includes Hunter Strickland, whose signing by the Angels apparently went unnoticed at Fangraphs. Sorted by last year’s WAR, Lucas Giolito is the best of what’s left, and Alex Verdugo, Chad Green and Nestor Cortes are tied for worst (three guys on the list didn’t play last year due to injury and have no 2025 WAR). If you sort by projected WAR, Zack Littell is the best of the rest, with Chad Green being the worst of those who actually have a projected WAR. There’s about 10 guys on the list that evidently are such crud that Fangraphs hasn’t even bothered to project 2026 WAR for them.
There won’t be a happy medium here it’s either a bust or a total steal…. stay tuned!
I think Marte is out of gas personally. I wish him well whatever he does.
His OPS+ of 111 suggests he isn’t out of gas. It would have been fourth on the Royals (minimum 200 ABs).
This was a great singing for KC cause our OF has been so awful for years. Last years numbers would’ve been amazing to have even and if he can repeat those it’s a great addition.
The KC Sopranos win again.
Anything more than major league minimum is throwing money out the window.
Good thing it’s not your window to replace. Nor you money to gamble with.
But you gotta know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em…
He looks to have put the injuries behind him. He can still steal bases and has some HR pop left in his bat. Marte is not a FT outfielder anymore and can’t play CF, but he’s a good 4th OF as long as you have a 5th OF that can play CF.
Would be better to give developmental time to a minor league player rather than Marte. If they needed someone that bad they should’ve taken tauchmann before the Mets signed him
They’ve been trying that approach for the last few years with horrible results. You don’t develop at the major league level, especially if you want to win
@yellowcleats
If they needed someone that bad… They got him.
Why they needed someone that bad, I’ll never know.
Hello. I must be going.
Too many role players with overlapping duties.
108 wRC+ over the last two years with a steady ~.320 xwOBA says competent bat, not “washed. Hard-hit still 40%, K% manageable, and the Royals’ recent OF production has been replacement-level anyway. If he’s priced as a role-player at $3–6M with incentives, that might work.
Spot on, York. Most of the commenters here seem to only know Marte’s age and not his stats. Marte is an above average hitter and there are plenty of teams who could use his bat, especially because he’ll be cheap. On top of that, he’s a great veteran clubhouse presence.
I watched most of the Mets games last year. Marte hit the weight room so he’s jacked but always count on him to fail in a situation where a key hit or a key RBI is needed . It will be an exercise in frustration watching him.
I watched them all and I disagree with you.
That sounds great but guess what? He’s done.
@Shadowpartner
Okay.
Thank you for agreeing. It’s the logical thing to do.
Done what? Bbqing? Watching Netflix? Taking a shower?
Because he’s getting paid to play baseball. So obviously he isn’t done doing that.
Way way WAY overdoing it Fan. Calm down. You sound so angry.
No one can be angry at BBQ
You got that right
Marte would be an excellent, lower cost fit for the Twins.
They need a RH hitting OF, like they signed Harrison Bader last year.
However at his age, I presume a chance at winning is a key consideration for Marte.
No, money is the key consideration. He may be entering his final season. He wants as much of a payday as he can get.
Considering that spring games have already started and this is basically the first bit of buzz he’s had all offseason, I think his only real concern right now is finding someone willing to guarantee him an opening day MLB roster spot.
You’re right. Marte has never played in a World Series, and he’ll be lucky to survive until April considering he’s only earned $131 million playing baseball.
The guy is still an above average hitter; he knows how to make contact. Problem for him is staying healthy. He’s in incredible shape but ironically made of glass.
It doesn’t look like has much left in his tank. I can’t see how this would help the Royals much.
“Left in his tank”..The guy can still hit. He showed that last year.
He did?
You don’t watch the Mets much, do you? I’m sure you have analytics that disagree, because there’s always analytics that disagree, but for the eye test, Starling Marte was still an above average hitter last year.
No, I haven’t watched Mets games in years, but I was just looking at his numbers. He seems OK I guess, but when he was able to get on the field and actually do his job he looks pretty average to me. The fact that this guy hasn’t played a full season in about 3000 years would scare a lot of teams off. He’s undependable and that has a lot to do with why he was still available this late. His age also. His numbers are decent enough, but definitely not a player many teams are gonna take a chance on. Royals probably got them cheap. I don’t know what the contract is.
“No, I haven’t watched Mets”…I’ve been watching MLB religiously for over 50+ years. But, I usually watch the same 6 or 7 teams each year with minor changes from year to year.
The only times I’ve made a fool out of myself on these pages is when I comment on teams I only watch 2 or 3 times the whole year( I’m not suggesting you made a fool of yourself by any means).
Stats do add context and background, but in my honest opinion, the only way to truly know what guys are and what they can do, is to watch them play(at least)2 or 3 times per week throughout the year.
I guess I disappointed you somewhat sorry about that. The last time I watched the Mets George Bamberger was the manager. I can also somewhat agree with what you said about stats. Toby Harrah said many years ago stats are like bikinis. You can see a lot, but you can’t see everything. The guy can’t stay healthy. I’m not trying to beat this thing to death by any means but if the Royals think he’s worth it more power to them.
So what your saying is you would have passed on Aaron Judge and missed out on the last 3 years of MVP record breaking years because he was always injured?
Roll. What is wrong with you? nobody ever would even begin or even think to try to compare this guy with Aaron Judge. that’s an incredibly ridiculous thing you said there. if that’s how you think you could go on and on and around in circles nonstop, never ending. What a ridiculous comparison.
“The fact that this guy hasn’t played a full season in about 3000 years would scare a lot of teams off. He’s undependable and that has a lot to do with why he was still available this late. ”
could fit Judge when he hit free agency.
Good. You got it. Everybody always says those two are identical players. It’s a known fact. You nailed it. There is absolutely no difference between the two you are correct. You’re trying to make your point beyond anything that’s even reasonable now.
Maybe a part time DH, but not in the outfield anymore. His shocks are worn out.
Make it a NRI with the standard opt-outs and let him spend most of the cold weather in EXST. If they get to May 1 and the roster works out, he can start 3x a week (twice at DH and once in LF) and pinch hit a bit.
I don’t really follow the Royals, are they going to carry a third catcher since Perez will DH so much?
As a DH, absolutely. If they think he can still play the field than no…
Good luck to Starling in KC. A class act
What makes him classy?
He’s sassy. He’s sassy in a classy way. He’s Sassy But Classy Starling Marte.
I used to see Starling and Gregor Polanco dining out together at some of Pittsburgh’s finest restaurants. They looked so gallant at the supper table!
He is a standup guy. And despite being a MLB player, one who has had a hell of an unfortunate life. I can only wish him the best.
They can probably play Collins or Thomas in CF against left handed pitching with Marte in the other corner if they want to rest both Isbel and Caglianone against lefties, and Marte could be an option for DH at bats vs lefties as well
Marte is great with young players. There could be more than his personal on-field performance in this decision.
There’s this position called coach.
Royals brass loves cheap old outfielders who come here and don’t hit.
The stadium had a lot to do with the not hitting.
I expected them to go all in on something like Steven Kwan or Jaren Duran, so this is kind of disappointing for Royals fans. Decent contract here, but may not age well, and a slight over pay I’d say
It was posted here a week ago that the Guardians wanted him to play CF. They’re not trading him. Neither is Duran on the block as the Red Sox need offense to fill Bregman’s void.
The Red Sox have the top 2 LF players according to MLB Network in Jaren Duran and Roman Anthony. Should have traded Duran for Kris Bubic and some other pieces. Would have helped both teams. I like the Marte signing, but would definitely prefer Duran.
Boston wants a first born for Duran.
@ LA.allday
Might not age well? Its a one year contract!
@stymeedone
Haha, I read the wrong thing! I accidentally read his last contract and thought that was the new one lol
Solid signing for the Royals.
still hits, still gets on base, still a plus player in a part-time role.
Good late deal for KC. Honestly liked him more than Grichuk for the Yanks.
That would necessitate DFA’ing one of Blake’s S.T. projects.
Someone will most likely have to go regardless.
Who do Royals fans want? Kyle Tucker? You’re options are pretty slim. If Marte sucks, you release him. Chances are he’ll be an improvement over in house options. If not, move the heck on.
If Marte can stay healthy this is a great pickup for the Royals, he hit quite well last year just could not stay healthy
Yazstremski has been rake’n this spring. Royals gave up a good prospect in Yunior Marte to land him from the Giants at the ’25 trade deadline and couldn’t resign him. They have added Marte and Thomas in lieu.
Kameron Misner was in line for a reserve role and as a potential replacement for Isbel, he was hitting early last season, getting everyday at-bats in Tampa.
As it sits, Misner is now in AAA to begin the season and thats a drag.
They could have done worse but it sure feels like they missed on Yazstremski.
In case you were wondering, the Mets paid this guy $196,969.70 PER GAME APPEARANCE in his 4 years there. He appeared in 396 of 648 regular season games, and was paid $78M. You should get more bang for your buck. It’s ridiculous. Children are still starving in Africa.
What Marte made has nothing to do with children starving in Africa. In fact American wealth and power are a huge reason that many charities and government organizations operate in the area. Economic and political stability are simply lacking in many regions of the world. If you arbitrarily limit what people make it has the opposite effect than what you are seeking.
You took his comment way too personally
Curious, what did Strasburg or Rendon make per game on their last contracts? Why pick on Marte in particular? He was a bargain compared to many bad contracts.
Marte threw me a ball at a Mets game so he will always be a favorite Met of mine
I hope you gave it to a little kid. I’ve seen grown adults knock kids over for a chance at a ball. If I ever caught a foul ball or if one landed in my lap, I would give it to the first little kid I see.
I like this signing. Royals needed depth and although his days of playing in the outfield are limited,he can still hit
Doesn’t move the needle still likely to place third or maybe 2nd if they’re lucky.
So, who gets bumped from the active roster? Lofton, Massey or Tolbert? And who gets bumped from the 40 man? Waters? Rave? Blanco?
Marte’s contributions extend beyond the field. His presence in the clubhouse will benefit the Royals.
5 million at most
While with the Mets he was seen as a positive clubhouse leader. Soto had nothing but good things to say about him last year. He can still hit the ball hard and get on base. I’m not sure what he can give them in the outfield, but he’ll play hard. I think that this is a good signing for the Royals.
100% agree. He is ideally a DH, but he can still play a corner in the outfield once a week. Great clubhouse guy. Prob didn’t cost much. If he has a good year, trade him for a prospect. Fans will like him.
I think that the Royals should trade Caglianone to the Angels. Its obvious he will never be any good after last season. We will send them Matthew Lugo and Raudi Rodriguez. 2 for 1. That should be enough, right? /S
FGDC projection
98 wRC+, 0.4 WAR/273 PA
Sad part about this comment is that if Marte puts up this project, it would be a marked improvement from 2o25 COF position. Marte should play about 80-90 games as part time RH bat first outfielder. Gives KC bench depth. Q like to use all of his bench so Marte will play when it seems good time.
These are some of the most bizarre comments I’ve seen under a MLBTR post. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
KC should score at least one more run this year than last year!! Very exciting signing.
One thing the Royals can do is sign Strawberry. He posted 0 war last year for the Mets but would make a good dugout presence in KC. I’m sure he would play outfield
At that money, seems like a low risk move for KC.