Phillies, Blue Jays Among Teams To Inquire On Ketel Marte’s Availability
BySteve Adams | at
Ketel Marte’s name continues to pop up on the offseason rumor mill as teams check in with the D-backs on the star second baseman. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has already plainly indicated thata trade is “unlikely,” and reports out of Arizona generally suggest that the Snakes are loath to part with Marte but will at least hear interested parties out as a matter of due diligence. About one-quarter of the league had already inquired as of two weeks ago.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, playing up the chances of a trade in a recent on-air segment, noted that the Phillies and Blue Jays are among the teams that have contacted the D-backs about Marte. That clearly doesn’t indicate anything is close, nor does it suggest that Marte specifically is a top target for either party. Nevertheless, it’s of modest note that they’ve at least gauged Marte’s availability and perhaps put out some feelers on the potential cost of acquisition.
The Phillies are largely set in the infield, withBryce Harper at first base,Bryson Stott at second base,Trea Turner at shortstop andAlec Bohm at third base (though Bohm is once again an offseason trade candidate himself). Marte has plenty of experience in the outfield, which is a more prominent area of need for the Phils, but he graded poorly as a center fielder over 1292 innings there earlier in his career (-11 Defensive Runs Saved, -7 Outs Above Average).
It’s a stretch to think that Marte, whose average sprint speed has fallen to the 29th percentile of big leaguers, could handle a move back to center field ahead of his age-32 season. The Phils have little set in place in the outfield aside fromBrandon Marsh, though, so perhaps they’d consider plugging Marte into left field. Right fielderNick Castellanos is widely expected to be traded or released this winter.
The focus in adding Marte wouldn’t be on his glove anyhow, but rather on his bat. The switch-hitting, multi-time All-Star is perennially excellent at the dish, evidenced by a .279/.360/.498 batting line (133 wRC+) dating back to 2021. Marte has been particularly dominant in the batter’s box over the past two seasons, slashing a combined .288/.374/.549 with 64 home runs in 1139 plate appearances.
The fit with the Jays is even more interesting, due to their expected run at retaining franchise iconBo Bichette. Toronto already movedAndres Gimenez to Bichette’s shortstop position during the playoffs, when Bichette was originally sidelined with a sprained PCL. Even when Bichette returned in the World Series, he did so as a second baseman. Gimenez is a vastly superior shortstop defender, so if the Jays do plan to re-sign Bichette, they could well do so with a permanent switch to second base in mind.
Marte is four years older than Bichette, but he’d also be markedly more affordable. He’s signed through 2031 for a total of $102.5MM, though the final season on his contract is an $11.5MM player option. Marte would be 37 for that 2031 season.
It bears emphasizing that the Jays doing a bit of groundwork on a potential second base alternative — one who may not even be truly “available” in trade talks, save for an overwhelming offer — in no way suggests a shift in priorities. Toronto brass has voiced a desire to keep Bichette, and the resources to do so would’ve been present even without a deep World Series run further filling the team’s coffers.
If the D-backs were to move Marte, the goal would surely be to acquire controllable, MLB-ready young pitching to plug into the rotation. That’s not exactly a core area of strength for either Philadelphia or Toronto.
The Phils, of course, have top prospectAndrew Painter on the cusp of MLB readiness, but they’ve been staunchly against trading him in any deal over the past few seasons, even while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. RightyMoises Chace, another touted righty in the system, underwent Tommy John surgery last June.Mick Abel was traded to the Twins in July’sJhoan Duran deal.
In Toronto, there’s even less high-end pitching near the majors.Trey Yesavage obviously isn’t going anywhere.Ricky Tiedemann missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Like the Phils, the Jays traded one of their next-best young arms,Kendry Rojas, to Minnesota as part of a win-now push at the deadline (nettingLouis Varland). Another,Khal Stephen, went to the Guardians in theShane Bieber trade.
There’s at least some modest intrigue in the fact that a pair of World Series hopefuls of this magnitude has looked into Marte, but to this point there’s little in the way of smoke suggesting a trade is actually plausible. Even if the D-backs become more serious about trading Marte, the Phillies and Jays would face steep competition in bidding to acquire him — presumably from contending clubs with more controllable pitching to spare. For now, it’s worth revisiting what Hazen said when prompted on Marte earlier in the month,telling the Burns & Gambo Show on 98.7 FM:
“It’s what happens. Everyone checks in on your better players. They’re coming after your better players. … [Marte is] one of our best players. We have some of the top position players in all of baseball on our roster and we need those players to be good next year.”
Hazen doubled down whenasked on 98.7’s Wolf & Luke Show:
“Ketel is one of, if not our best player. He’s a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league. Yes, I do know it’s a team game and putting a team together to win baseball games is also equally important. That’s on us to figure out what the right mix of players is.”
50 Comments
Guy is a great player Phillies should make the move
It would be very fitting for the history of the NL East to have the Phillies trade for Marte while the Mets trade for Semien.
They don’t have the gas
No one is untouchable, but it would have to take a really good package to get Ketel from the Diamondbacks.
What about Stott and Painter for Marte?
Hey Dbacks! Can we have your MVP candidate for the players we don’t like anymore? please….? Hello…?
@choof that’s probably 90% of the conversations happening right now.
I wouldn’t take that if I was AZ. Would need at least 4 players including 2 top 10 prospects, and at least 1 pitching prospect for Marte.
Maybe for something like Painter, Nori, Cabrera, and Stott could work.
Marte is a terrific hitter on a very good contract so the cost should be high. The risk however is that he is heading into his age 32 season; the legs are not what they were and the defense usually follows.
How much do you give up for what could be a relatively steep slope? The art of the trade makes coming to agreement a longshot. I would certainly not pay what you suggest, but would hardly blame the DBacks for reaching for the moon either
Carver-I don’t see that as shooting for the moon at all. Stott’s a throwaway/trade piece, and two top 10’s and a top 20 feels about right for a guy who’s locked up till ‘31, and is almost sure to provide at least a couple of AS appearances and a top 10 MVP finish or two during that time.
@RD – Disagree, mostly based upon Painter. He will be in the rotation and is an elite talent with full control so basically I would not add him to the package. Stott is hardly a throwaway but is not at a high point in value.
The issue is this – how does one really value Marte, and how does one really value Painter? the rest of the package can be managed.
Marte’s defense and running isn’t/hasn’t been why a team would want him, so that doesn’t really matter
@choof – No offense, but that is just a useless comment. Every aspect of the game matters. Of course his bat is the carrying tool, but the reality is that it all is a part of the way that one judges a player and the potential as one looks ahead.
I absolutely agree that defense and speed matters, I’m all for it. I’m just saying it’s silly to put too much worry into that when that’s not the reason you’d be acquiring him
Nice player but drop painter and throw in a obscure minor league prospect and you might peak my interest.
Acoss I agree. It’s due diligence to check in. I would be surprised if they moved him, and if they did I would imagine the return would have to have MLB players and high value prospects.
Welcome back to Seattle, Ketel !!! Back to your origins, it’s a perfect fit and perfect trading partners. Make it happen Jerry !!!!
I’m sure the Yankees would have interest. Why just the Blue Jays and the Phillies?
Jazz is their 2B, if you didn’t know.
I believe that the Phillies could really entice the D”Backs into a trade, maybe even making it a bigger deal by the D’Backs also putting either McCarthy or Thomas plus a low-level prospect into the deal. But it will cost the Phillies maybe Painter, Stott, Kerkering plus two mid number 10 to 20rated prospects.
If the Phillies can get him for Stott, Kerkering/Strahm, Escobar, Nori, and Fisher I’d say go for it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to give up a top 100 prospect for a 32 yr old player with a backloaded contract.
Other teams may be willing to give up a top 100 or top 50 prospect so who knows. They seem to think theyll get an AS pitcher for him, highly doubt that.
But with the Phillies package I listed, they’d have some extra cash to go pay one. Esp if they did Kerkering vs Strahm.
If the Phillies sign Imai, you could see them sending Painter to Arizona. Otherwise, the Phillies don’t have enough that they can spare.
Jays do not have the prospects to do this, this offer would have to be tremendous
The second baseman the mets should have made a priority to acquire.
@JoeSmoe
Yep. And they would have had the prospects to get it done.
They wanted to improve the defense and Semien is far superior defensively. They can add to the offense in other positions with Alonso, Tucker, Bellinger, Schwarber, Murakami, Bichette, and Bregman still available (Semien is also a superior defender at his position to any of those players at their respective positions). Trading for Marte also reduces their prospect capital instead of using their best asset to improve the team: Cohen’s money. Plus they still need to bring in at least two starting pitchers. The Nimmo-Semien trade was super efficient for what they need to still do.
Calling Bo Bichette a blue jays franchise icon is only a little bit of an exaggeration…
No thank you.
“Franchise Icon Bo Bichette.” I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t see that in the article.
I have even seen the Reds linked to him but I say no thanks. We don’t need another Moose like contract in his later years.
lol. This is a top 3 contract value in baseball
Ketel goes to 20+ mill a year eventually. Even with getting cash which Bob loves, that isn’t happening.
Marte is the most unheralded underrated player in the league imo
Non-story.
Am I the only Phillies fan here that doesn’t want this team to get older. He is a very good player but the Phillies already have too many players on the wrong side of 32.
Can he play 3rd?
Good contract for the first 2 remaining years, After that, who ever he is playing for, the contract will be underwater and the team will be looking to move him again. That’s just the reality of his situation.
If the Diamondbacks plan on contending in ‘26 they should hold onto him and re evaluate at the deadline. If they feel they will be taking a step back for the next two seasons (‘27 most likely being a lockout and 1/2 a season again) they should be exploring all avenues aggressively to move him with his current surplus value.
As mentioned in the article and by Hazen many times locally, any trade proposal should include multiple cost controlled, MLB ready arms. That said, I don’t believe the Dbacks have any interest in trading Marte.
Stott’s a fine player, but turning 2B into a RH cleanup would solve a lot of problems for the Phillies lineup. There’s still room for Stott to play regularly elsewhere, but they could also shop him either as part of that Marte trade or to a team like Seattle for Harry Ford.
I do really like Stott. I think there’s a 6-win player in there, but I don’t know if the Phillies can unlock it. If he was going to figure out how to make consistent hard contact, you’d think they’d have it worked out by now.
Hazen appears to have scored with the Garcia bratt and drake moves. There’s probably one free agent move still and it would be shocking if lawlar wasn’t on somebody’s wish list.
I think we need to filter these trade ideas a little more through the other teams lens. Seattle is in their contention window and I think the only reason the Mariners trade Ford for Stott is if Seattle decided to give up on Ford.
I acknowledge your building skepticism of Stott as he has built up two thousand plate appearances and looks like a league average bat with a decent glove to me. This is right about the time even people who encourage patience stop expecting a whole lot more.
Why should Seattle take on the risk of trying to find that 6 WAR player? Would they rather see if Ford can actually develop his potential? For me I think I would rather take my chances with Ford because I dont think Stott moves the needle for the Mariners.
Stott as part of the Marte trade does make some since as Arizona will need a replacement and Stott won’t make you look bad, but you will have to send someone else like Painter and another worthwhile piece. Of course, a lot of this also depends on how the DBacks see themselves. Are they thinking about a rebuild, reload or do they see themselves as competitors in 26?
Ketel for Baz
I love these sports radio talk shows; i.e., the Burns & Gambo Show and the Wolf & Luke Show. I wonder what the Dingo and The Baby Show had to say about it?
Don’t forget about Bob & Larry in the Morning.
This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Let’s get rid of Castellanos because he is a cancer on the team. Not wanting to give 100% and being a team player.
But they are interested in Ketel Marte who has been the same for the Diamondbacks. But wants to play less than Castellanos wanted to play for the Phillies.
I live in the Delaware Valley and I am a Phillies lifer.
I go into the break room and some genius is talking about trading for Marte, moving Stott to 3rd (the guy loves talking about how versatile Stott is in the field except Stott has only “gotten a chance” to play 3rd twice) and trading Bohm for some all-star outfielder. I ask him “Who is taking Bohm for their all-star? And who is getting traded for Marte?”
Do people not get that other teams can see video and stats real time of our fielders too?
@Pete Rose Remains
It’s the quantity vs quality trade. We’ll trade you 3 45 grade players for a 50 grade. It’s fair because we’re giving up 3 bench players for your one starting player.
I have told this guy before that only works with the “trade fairness” option turned off in the settings.
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