Ketel Marte is coming off one of his best seasons yet and the Arizona Diamondbacks are just three years removed from a World Series run. So why have multiple contenders checked in on the Diamondbacks’ All-Star second baseman? According to MLB.com, Arizona is listening because the team needs pitching and is running out of leverage time.
Marte is coming off one of his most complete seasons in years. He hit.279 with 24 homers, 82 RBIs and an.842 OPS across 152 games, earning a 121 OPS+ and 4.4 WAR on Baseball-Reference. His underlying profile remains elite. Baseball Savant measured a 45-percent hard-hit rate and a 91 mph average exit velocity, and FanGraphs ranked him seventh among second basemen in WAR. He’s a switch-hitter, he controls the zone, and he plays second and some outfield — exactly the kind of player October teams want.
That’s why clubs like the Mariners, Reds, Giants, Cubs and Phillies have surfaced early. Seattle needs a reliable contact bat in the middle of its order. Cincinnati is searching for stability at second. San Francisco needs any kind of impact offense. The Cubs and Phillies both have positional flexibility to make room for Marte’s bat.
Arizona’s position is more complicated.
The roster has holes in the rotation and bullpen, and Marte’s contract with two years of team control is one of their most valuable trade chips.
The ticking clock is the 10-and-5 rights he’s approaching, which would give him full no-trade protection. Once he crosses that line, the Diamondbacks lose all leverage, and that’s why rivals think they’re listening now.
Marte’s production, cost and versatility give Arizona real options, but moving him would mean reshaping their core. For teams calling, that’s exactly the point.
