Braves rumors: Why Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte is unlikely to land in Atlanta

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As things presently stand, Ketel Marte is still a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, even if his current employer would love to ship the second baseman to a team like the Atlanta Braves for rebuilding pieces for the future.

On paper, the Braves are the kind of team that would like to bring in a player like Marte, but according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, what looks good on the surface doesn’t quite check out under further scrutiny.

Why? Because for a trade to get done, the Braves would likely have to send back Ozzie Albies, who is a major bounce-back candidate and is much younger than Marte.

“The Atlanta Braves, in theory, could pursue Marte, who would be an upgrade over their own switch-hitting second baseman, Ozzie Albies,” Rosenthal and Sammon wrote. “But even though Albies is coming off two down years offensively, he is only 28. He rebounded from a .606 OPS before the All-Star Game last season to produce a .769 OPS, just shy of his career mark, after the break. And he is under contract for a below-market $7 million in 2026, with the Braves holding a $7 million option for ‘27.”

The Braves are also unlikely to make a move for Marte because doing so would require saying goodbye to a quality pitcher like Hurston Waldrep, which is counterintuitive to their desire to improve on the mound.

“Albies could go back to the Diamondbacks in any trade for Marte, but the Braves also would need to include young pitching. After all the injuries they incurred in their rotation last season, they do not want to part with Hurston Waldrep, who could be their No. 5 starter. They also are reluctant to move any of their better pitching prospects when Chris Sale is turning 37 in the final year of his contract, Spencer Strider is growing more expensive, and Reynaldo López is under club control for only two more seasons,” Rosenthal and Sammon wrote.

“The Braves want to add a top-of-the-rotation starter, not subtract a pitcher who might develop into one. Teams deeper in young pitching would be better fits for Marte, but even then, the Diamondbacks might not find the kind of match they desire. Top young pitchers rarely get traded. Teams consider them too valuable.”

Could the Braves flip Albies and Waldrep for Marte and then address the back of their pitching rotation in another way, either via free agency or a trade? Potentially so, but as things presently stand, it appears more likely that Marte ends up on another team than in a Braves red, blue, and white jersey on the other side of the country.

Braves rumors: Why Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte is unlikely to land in Atlanta

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