{"id":820376,"date":"2026-10-03T07:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T07:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/820376\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T07:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T07:12:14","slug":"d-backs-leadership-on-ketel-marte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/820376\/","title":{"rendered":"D-Backs’ Leadership On Ketel Marte"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest questions facing D-Backs brass is whether to put Ketel Marte<\/a> on the trade block. Arizona listened to offers on their star second baseman last winter but seemingly didn\u2019t come close to a deal. Marte crossed ten years of service time in early April, thereby securing full no-trade rights because he\u2019s also spent five-plus seasons in Arizona.<\/p>\n

Questions about Marte\u2019s maturity resurfaced in the middle of August. The three-time All-Star didn\u2019t show up for the start of a series at Fenway Park on August 17. That predictably frustrated a portion of the clubhouse and clearly left manager Torey Lovullo dismayed in his postgame comments. The D-Backs initially placed Marte on the restricted list, then transferred him to the 10-day injured list after sending him for imaging on his left knee. He returned to action at the end of August and played the final month of the season, seemingly without issue.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time that others around the team have been frustrated with Marte\u2019s unexplained absences. Even if he were indeed injured, CEO Derrick Hall pointed out that the protocol is for players to go in for treatment. The Snakes clearly tried to patch things up for the stretch run but now have a few months to evaluate whether they\u2019d prefer to go in another direction.<\/p>\n

Lovullo, who signed a new two-year contract this week, suggested he\u2019ll take a different approach to his relationship with the player. \u201cThe decisions you make are going to be on you now. I am going to eliminate protecting you the way I have,\u201d Lovullo said when asked about how he\u2019d approach managing Marte if he remains on the team (relayed by John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM<\/a>). \u201d I can\u2019t do that anymore. At a certain point, I have to allow them (players) to advocate for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

General manager Mike Hazen also addressed the Marte situation in an appearance on Arizona Sports<\/a> on Friday. The GM said that the decision to retain Lovullo isn\u2019t related to Marte\u2019s future, saying the two \u201chave a great relationship.\u201d At the same time, Hazen left open the possibility of making a significant change after a third straight season without a playoff berth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to look at this team that\u2019s been together since 2023, and is this the absolute right mix of players that we have on this roster to take that next level and go forward? I do believe there\u2019s some level of continuity that is good for us,\u201d Hazen added. \u201cIt\u2019s stabilized where the floor of our team has been, but we haven\u2019t reached any ceiling since three years ago, and that needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The D-Backs have a few needs on the pitching staff and certainly need an upgrade at first base. Owner Ken Kendrick has already said payroll will come down<\/a>. Some of that will happen organically with the\u00a0Zac Gallen<\/a> and\u00a0Lourdes Gurriel Jr.<\/a>\u00a0contracts coming off the books. Trading Marte would open some spending capacity, though his $12MM salary remains a bargain for a middle infielder with his offensive ceiling.<\/p>\n

Marte didn\u2019t play at his typical level in 2026. He had a league average .249\/.316\/.432 batting line with 22 home runs across 624 plate appearances. Although he still hit for more power than the typical second baseman, Marte\u2019s batting verage and on-base percentage were pedestrian. It\u2019s a significant step back from the .279\/.360\/.498 line he posted between 2021-25.<\/p>\n

The switch-hitting Marte turns 33 next week. He\u2019s signed through 2031 for a total of $87.5MM. The contract, no-trade rights and the maturity issues would all complicate trade talks. At the same time, few middle infielders have the offensive upside that Marte has shown at his best \u2014 leaving the front office in a tricky spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you win with star players in this game. But I am also \u2014 I\u2019ve said this \u2014 I\u2019m not blind to what the clubhouse dynamic is and what the interaction between all the players and the coaches and how that comes into winning and losing games,\u201d Hazen said (link via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic<\/a>). That\u2019s a similar stance to the one he took publicly 12 months ago.<\/p>\n

The questions about Marte\u2019s future made it up to the top of the organization. Kendrick addressed the situation in his appearance on Burns and Gambo<\/a> of Arizona Sports on Friday. \u201cIt is Torey\u2019s job to manage the players. He\u2019s gone on record now. \u2026 Ketel, if he is a Diamondback, I hope he will be the player that he has the talent to be. I hope he will overcome his consistent acts of immaturity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the biggest questions facing D-Backs brass is whether to put Ketel Marte on the trade block.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,729],"class_list":["post-820376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baseball","tag-baseball","tag-ketel-marte"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117375739075576397","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}