The Diamondbacks’ handling of Ketel Marte is heading into another defining winter, and the tone from the top of the organization suggests the club is no longer willing to let the issue drift.
Arizona listened to trade offers on Marte last winter, though nothing ever got close. Now the second baseman’s situation is even more complicated.
Marte reached 10 years of service time in early April, which gave him full no-trade rights because he has also logged five-plus seasons in Arizona. That alone makes any deal harder.
Add in his recent absence and the conversation gets a lot more uncomfortable.
The frustration around Marte flared again in mid-August, when he did not show up for the start of a series at Fenway Park on August 17. The reaction inside the clubhouse was predictably sharp, and manager Torey Lovullo made clear afterward that the situation had landed poorly with him.
Arizona first put Marte on the restricted list, then moved him to the 10-day injured list after sending him for imaging on his left knee. He returned at the end of August and finished the season, apparently without further problems.
Still, it was not the first time Marte’s unexplained absences had rubbed people the wrong way. Derrick Hall said that even if Marte really was hurt, the expectation is for players to go in for treatment. The Diamondbacks clearly tried to smooth things over for the stretch run, but they now have months to decide whether Marte still fits the direction they want to go.
Lovullo, who signed a new two-year contract this week, sounded ready to change the way he handles the situation if Marte remains in Arizona. “The decisions you make are going to be on you now.
I am going to eliminate protecting you the way I have,” Lovullo said when asked about how he’d approach managing Marte if he remains on the team (relayed by John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM). ” I can’t do that anymore.
At a certain point, I have to allow them (players) to advocate for themselves.”
General manager Mike Hazen also weighed in Friday on Arizona Sports and said Lovullo’s contract extension is not tied to Marte’s future. Hazen said the two “have a great relationship.” Even so, he did not shut the door on bigger changes after the club’s third straight season without a playoff berth.
“I need to look at this team that’s 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’s some level of continuity that is good for us,” Hazen added. “It’s stabilized where the floor of our team has been, but we haven’t reached any ceiling since three years ago, and that needs to change.”
There are roster issues beyond Marte, too. Arizona needs help on the pitching staff and still has a clear hole at first base.
Owner Ken Kendrick has already said payroll will come down, and some of that will happen naturally as the Zac Gallen and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. contracts come off the books. Moving Marte would create more room, though his $12MM salary is still a bargain for a middle infielder with his offensive ceiling.
That ceiling was not fully on display in 2026. Marte hit .249/.316/.432 with 22 home runs in 624 plate appearances, a league-average line that was well below what he has delivered in better years.
He still provided more power than most second basemen, but the batting average and on-base numbers were ordinary. It marked a clear drop from the .279/.360/.498 line he put up between 2021-25.
Marte turns 33 next week and is signed through 2031 on an $87.5MM deal. Between the contract, the no-trade protection and the questions about maturity, any trade discussion would be messy. But Marte’s best version remains rare enough that the front office is still staring at a tough call.
“I think you win with star players in this game. But I am also - I’ve said this - I’m 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,” Hazen said (link via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic). That was much the same line he gave publicly a year ago.
Kendrick also addressed the situation on Burns and Gambo of Arizona Sports on Friday. “It is Torey’s job to manage the players.
He’s gone on record now. … 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.”
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Nolan Arenado Gave Arizona Hope At Third Base Again For Now
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For Arizona, the bigger question is not what Arenado did in stretches, but how much of that version is sustainable going forward. The offensive production was real enough to help, yet the underlying trends pointed the other way, with his exit velocity and hard-hit rate slipping, leaving the Diamondbacks with a useful answer at the hot corner for now and a longer-term evaluation still hanging over the spot. [Read more 🡒]