According to insider Francys Romero, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are actively pushing to make a deal for infielder Ketel Marte.
Hearing that both the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays are actively pushing to reach a deal with Ketel Marte, per sources.
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Nothing close so far.
The Red Sox have been linked to Marte for weeks, with some indicating they were the favorite for him, but nothing has happened yet.
Now 32 years old, Marte will play the entire 2026 season at 32. An 11-year veteran of the Seattle Mariners and Diamondbacks, he’s a career .281 hitter with 171 home runs and 587 RBIs.
The best offensive second baseman in the game, Marte has seven seasons of double-digit home run totals and two seasons of 30 or more on his resume. He’s also got two seasons of 90+ RBIs, is a three-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger and an NLCS MVP.
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He’s signed through the 2030 campaign with just over $90 million remaining. There is also an $11.5 million player option for 2031. Given the price tags on premier players, he’s relatively affordable. The Diamondbacks don’t have to trade him, and the price tag is high, but the Red Sox have the ability to meet it.
Boston has struck out on the free agent market and has been unable to solidify a reunion with Alex Bregman thus far, so perhaps a trade for Marte is the best way to acquire impact.
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By all indications, the Diamondbacks want talent that is major league ready, or close to it. They aren’t looking for a bunch of 18-year-olds who will pop seven years from now. They want to contend, and soon. They’ve already signed Merrill Kelly this offseason and they’ve been connected to Bregman as well, further showing that they are intent on making noise in the National League West.
So how does that translate to the Red Sox? Well, Boston is uniquely qualified to meet that asking price.
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For starters, they have excess outfielders, including Jarren Duran, who has three years left of team control. They also have two-time Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu. Either of those players could be of interest to Arizona, especially Abreu, since he’s younger and cheaper. He also has four years left of team control.
On the pitching side of things, the Red Sox are blessed with a deep staff that includes Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, Johan Oviedo, Patrick Sandoval, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison and Kutter Crawford.
Tolle is the No. 2 prospect in the organization, while Early is No. 4, per MLB Pipeline. Both players made their major league debuts in 2025 and are major-league ready. Either one of them would be desirable to Arizona.
In theory, the Red Sox could acquire Marte and play him at second, and they’d still have room to sign Bregman for third. Of course, it’s also possible that Arizona sheds Marte’s contract and then has money available to sign Bregman themselves, which would hurt the Red Sox.
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And no matter how this all plays out, we have to wonder how the organization feels about youngsters Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell moving forward.
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