Ketel

Marte

Marte said he recently talked to GM Mike Hazen, who apologized over how public the rumors became. “We talked a lot and hashed some things out, talked it all through and everything is great,” Marte said. “Mike knows I love the D-backs, I love my teammates. Everyone knows what type of player I am, and I’m just happy it all worked out and I’m here.”

Diamondbacks’ general manager Mike Hazen said last week that he wanted to resolve Marte’s status in the near future, and while he was willing to listen to offers on his 32-year-old superstar, nothing came close to materializing. Of course, Hazen isn’t bound to anything here and this could very well just be a leveraging ploy to see if he can get any potential suitors to up the ante. The most likeliest scenario is still that Marte opens the season as the Diamondbacks’ starting second baseman.

Marte is still available in trade talks at the moment, but Hazen might shut down things soon if no one steps up with the offer the D-backs want. “But this isn’t going to continue to linger,” he said. “We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that [a trade of Marte] wasn’t going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that’s the case and we want to focus on other things we need to do.” The Red Sox, Rays and Tigers are among the teams to have asked about Marte, who is entering the second year of a seven-year, $116.5 million extension.

This would make sense considering the Mets actually gave the Athletics cash to encourage them to take McNeil in a trade. It seems that the Mets were eager to move on from McNeil, which might mean that they have an intended replacement for him. However, that would also mean the Mets are looking to put Marte back in center field, where he last played in 2023. Nothing is imminent, but this remains a situation to monitor and there are a lot of moving pieces here.

Bregman is originally from Arizona so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the two sides would discuss the possibility of him heading to the desert, especially since the Diamondbacks appear to be at least entertaining the idea of trading second baseman Ketel Marte. The 31-year-old third baseman has drawn widespread interest but it doesn’t appear he’s on the precipice of making a final decision. A return to the Red Sox seems to make the most sense for both parties which makes it a bit surprising that they haven’t been able to reach an agreement.

The big surprise here is Seager since his name hasn’t come up at all in trade discussions this offseason. It’s abundantly clear that the Red Sox, who have a surplus of young big-league caliber pitching prospects to deal, are planning to upgrade at either second or third base this offseason since they’ve been active in trade discussions for multiple targets while also pursuing free agents Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette and Eugenio Suárez. Get your popcorn ready.

Rosenthal highlighted some potential concerns with “clubhouse fit and the acquisition cost” that are preventing teams from making aggressive offers for Marte right now. As a result, the Diamondbacks might be wise to wait and let free agency play out a little more before trying to make a move. That being said, Marte will gain full no-trade protection after the tenth day of the 2026 season since he will have accrued 10 years of service and five consecutive with the same club. That might make it harder for Arizona to trade him.

Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said last month that trading Marte is unlikely to occur this offseason, but teams are always open to listening to offers. The 32-year-old franchise cornerstone recorded a robust .893 OPS with 28 round-trippers across 126 games. He remains an elite second baseman for fantasy purposes regardless of his landing spot and will be an early-round selection in all drafts next spring.

Morosi reports that it’s “at least a 50/50 chance that Ketel Marte is moved” this offseason. As of now, nothing is close, but multiple teams - like the Phillies and Blue Jays - have checked in on Marte’s availability. Neither the Phillies nor the Blue Jays are on Marte’s limited no-trade clause, so either team could acquire him without Marte’s approval. This will be one of the key storylines to watch this offseason.

Hazen’s remarks at the annual general manager’s meetings directly contradict reporting earlier this week by USA TODAY’S Bob Nightengale that suggested the club is motivated to move Marte this offseason. The 32-year-old was an All-Star and Silver Slugger at second base this past season when he posted an .893 OPS with 28 homers in 126 games. He remains an early-round selection in all fantasy drafts heading into next season.