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Arizona Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte.
The Boston Red Sox traded for Cardinals’ first baseman Willson Contreras and cash Sunday night in exchange for pitcher Hunter Dobbins and minor league arms, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
It was reported that Contreras was one of the Red Sox’s top trade targets. Now, they’ve got him. But perhaps this was a pivot from their top target in Arizona Diamondbacks’ second baseman Ketel Marte.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today affirms this, reporting that the Red Sox are now expected to end trade talks with the Diamondbacks for Marte.
Will the Diamondbacks Trade Ketel Marte?
This has been the question of the offseason. Will they or won’t they?
For weeks, reports have said trade talks have intensified for the superstar second baseman. However, Diamondbacks’ General Manager Mike Hazen and reporters have said that while they are listening to offers, nothing is imminent.
Now that perhaps Marte’s most aggressive suitor has backed out, will trade talks cool with other teams?
The Red Sox were labeled as a perfect fit, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. And for both sides, it would’ve seemed to be the case.
The Red Sox have been searching for a franchise second baseman for years, which Marte is, and the Red Sox have elite young pitching, which Arizona desires.
But the perfect destination for Marte is reportedly closed for business. So what do the Diamondbacks do next? Are there any other teams worth trading Marte to?
While the market price is high for Marte, as it should be for a player of his elite caliber, there is no clear answer as of now on whether other teams will balk at Arizona’s asking price.
What Other Teams Have Shown Interest in Marte?
While the Athletics, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are on Marte’s no-trade list, there are many suitors for Marte’s talents.
The Tampa Bay Rays have made moves to acquire young starting pitching lately by trading Brandon Lowe, Shane Baz and others. But are they likely to acquire him? Probably not with the lack of contention shown by them, as well as the lack of MLB-ready pitching.
The AL East sure is interested in Marte. The Toronto Blue Jays are also interested in Marte. However, Trey Yesavage is reportedly the only young pitcher Arizona is interested in, which is unacceptable for Toronto.
Curt Bishop of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Seattle Mariners are a team to watch. But will Marte reunite with his former teammate, Josh Naylor? It appears that with Seattle’s surplus of young pitching that they could be next up in pursuit of Marte.
But in the end, it all comes down to whether or not the Diamondbacks even want to trade Marte.
The time is “now or never” to trade Marte, but does Arizona want to? We shall find out in the coming weeks.
Matthew Singer Matthew Singer is a sports reporter covering MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2025, and has two years of experience covering local professional, collegiate and high school sports, including writing for Cronkite News and Arizona PBS. More about Matthew Singer
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