One month after D-backs general manager Mike Hazen indicated that he was willing to listen to trade inquiries for second baseman Ketel Marte, rumors continue to swirl around the three-time All-Star.
According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, nothing is “hot” yet on the Marte front, but trade talks are ongoing at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. Recent reporting from Heyman and others has connected the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mariners, Tigers, Pirates and Rays to the 32-year-old. The Phillies also checked in on him, reports MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi.
“Nothing's really changed all that much,” Hazen said. “As you get into these meetings, things generally pick up. I think that's probably been the case here for us with a few of our players in the trade market. I'm still of the position that I feel like we're going to end up in the same spot that we were coming into this, but we don't know.
"I've said this before, I just feel like it's my responsibility, our responsibility, to at least engage with the market and listen to what teams have to say. And you know, we'll see where that goes over the next couple of days.”
Hazen, who has had a very good relationship with Marte over the years, said he has not spoken with Marte about the rumors because it still seems unlikely that a trade will actually come to fruition.
“This is not that atypical from every other offseason we've had with him,” Hazen said of the trade interest. “It's just gotten a lot more publicity for some reason this year. I’m not sure why people are being more aggressive with it than in years past, but they have been. I've given the same responses. I don’t want to walk [Marte] through something that I’m not even confident is going to happen. I feel like we have a good enough relationship that when it’s all said and done, I’ll tell him everything. I’ll be honest with him and we can move on.”
It’s easy to see why there would be a lot of interest in Marte, who led primary second basemen with 15.3 WAR (per FanGraphs) while tying for ninth among qualifiers (regardless of position) with a 140 wRC+ over the past three seasons.
With those numbers, Marte not only compares favorably to the top two unsigned infielders -- Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman -- but also four other high-profile free-agent position players: Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso and Cody Bellinger. Here’s what all of them have done since the start of 2023:
- Alonso: 8.4 fWAR // 128 wRC+ (age 28-30 seasons)
- Bellinger: 11.4 fWAR // 123 wRC+ (age 27-29 seasons)
- Bichette: 8.0 fWAR // 116 wRC+ (age 25-27 seasons)
- Bregman: 12.1 fWAR // 122 wRC+ (age 29-31 seasons)
- Schwarber: 9.1 fWAR // 135 wRC+ (age 30-32 seasons)
- Tucker: 13.6 fWAR // 147 wRC+ (age 26-28 seasons)
>> Marte: 15.3 fWAR, 140 wRC+ (age 29-31 seasons)
Further adding to Marte’s appeal is his contract, which is more modest than the deals the aforementioned stars are expected to command on the open market. He signed a seven-year $116.5 million extension with Arizona last April. The deal includes an opt-out after Marte’s age-36 campaign in 2030.
So why would the D-backs consider moving such a valuable piece? As MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert explained in mid-November, Arizona has major pitching needs -- and not a lot of room in the budget to solve them. The club reached a one-year, $7.5 million deal with oft-injured righty Michael Soroka on Monday (per sources), but it still has a lot of work to do to bolster a staff that wasn’t especially strong in 2025 and has been depleted by departures and injuries.
It’s obviously going to take a major haul to pry Marte from the D-backs; Morosi hears that they are emphasizing starters that are at or near Major League readiness as part of their lofty asking price. Still, interest in the second baseman could be strong enough to force Arizona's hand, especially if free agency breaks a certain way.
For instance, the Blue Jays might be more willing to make an enticing offer for Marte if Bichette signs elsewhere and their pursuit of Tucker doesn’t pan out. Ditto for the Red Sox, who have been linked to a variety of free-agent bats, from Bregman to Alonso to Schwarber.
The Mariners are hoping to reunite with free agent Jorge Polanco, but Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported on Dec. 3 that a deal didn’t appear close between the two sides, prompting the team to consider a trio of trade targets -- Marte, the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the Rays’ Brandon Lowe -- to fill its second-base void.
It’s unclear where Marte would fit with the Phillies when they already have Bryson Stott at second base, but they’d certainly have more of a need for the switch-hitter's bat if they aren’t able to bring back Schwarber.
Marte's affordable deal also broadens the range of potential suitors, putting small-market teams such as the Pirates and Rays squarely in the mix.