Big bats have secured big money at the winter meetings this week, with Kyle Schwarber agreeing to return to the Philadelphia Phillies for five years and $150 million and Pete Alonso joining the Baltimore Orioles for five years and $155 million.
Schwarber is a designated hitter, and Alonso is a first baseman not known for defense. Both players are in their 30s and set to make $30-plus million per season into their mid-to-late 30s.
These deals continue to hammer home just how team friendly a contract Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is on.
Marte, the subject of numerous trade rumors this week, is going to make less money over the next two seasons than either Schwarber’s or Alonso’s average annual value.
Marte is going to make $16 million in 2026 an $12 million in 2027 before his salary goes up to $20 million in 2028. He is under contract through 2030 with an $11 million player option for 2031.
To compare to the recent hot stove deals, Marte is essentially on a five-year, $92 million deal, less than 60% of Alonso’s deal. They are in the same age range, as Marte just turned 32 years old, Alonso turned 31 and Schwarber will be 33 in spring training.
And Marte has been a more valuable player over the past three years. Since the start of 2023, Marte has racked up 15.3 wins above replacement (FanGraphs), which ranks sixth in the National League. Schwarber is 27th with 9.1 and Alonso is 32nd with 8.4.
Schwarber and Alonso are Nos. 1 and 2 in home runs during that span, but Marte has the better OPS than either.
As teams check in with the Diamondbacks for Marte, his contract compared to the free agents out there has to award the D-backs leverage in talks to bring back a haul in any potential trade.
Player | Age | Contract | Stats from 2024 & 2025
Kyle Schwarber, 32 years-280 days, 5 years, $150M
Pete Alonso, 31 years-3 days, 5 years, $155M
Ketel Marte, 32 years-59 days, 5 years, $92M
The price for Ketel Marte just went up. pic.twitter.com/DI7T7Z9ktP
— Arizona Diamondbacks | Stats & Info (@DbacksStatsInfo) December 10, 2025
“(Marte is) a superstar player. He’s on a good deal relative to the industry. I think that makes him very attractive to a lot of teams that think that they can just go get this guy,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen told MLB Network Radio on Monday.
His contract allows clubs beyond the big markets to dip their toes in and present an offer, creating competition.
The Diamondbacks have not shut the door on trading Marte, but the reports indicate they are looking for a beast of a package in return that could help fill multiple holes, particularly pitching-wise.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported on Tuesday that the trade market for Marte was “heating up,” adding to the laundry list of trade rumors that have swirled. Heyman mentioned the Red Sox, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays and Phillies as teams in contention.
The Red Sox were in the sweepstakes for Alonso and lost him to a division rival.
With Alex Bregman a free agent and coming off an AL Wild Card Series loss to the Yankees, the Red Sox are a team of interest with a deep arsenal of young pitching a need to bolster the lineup. The Mariners, whom the D-backs trade with frequently, could use a second baseman after falling one game short of the World Series. They also boast young pitching depth.
The Diamondbacks have a complicated offseason, but they are working from a position of strength with Marte. They can keep him and run back a dynamic offensive core with Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo. It just takes one team to blow them away with an offer, and recent developments should help drive the price up. Especially since there are no free agents like him.
