If the Diamondbacks do end up shopping Ketel Marte out of the NL West, Padres fans would probably welcome the sight of him somewhere else. Nobody in San Diego needs a reminder of how annoying he can be in a series against Arizona, especially when he steps into the batter’s box.
But there’s another side to this, and it’s the one the Padres should keep in mind. If Arizona moves Marte, the real question becomes what the Diamondbacks get back.
General manager Mike Hazen is clearly open to changing a roster that won 86 games in 2026 and still missed the playoffs for the third straight year. The Diamondbacks listened to trade interest in Marte into January last winter and decided to keep him when the offers didn’t measure up.
That conversation is back now, and Hazen told MLB.com that resolving it will shape the rest of the offseason. Marte also has the right to veto a trade, so he’ll have a say in how long this drags on and where he lands.
On the surface, dealing Marte looks like Arizona would be giving up one of its biggest edges in tight games. But this is also a team that needs more from the rest of the roster, and moving him could help Hazen attack other weak spots. He pointed to middle relief and production against right-handed pitching as areas that need attention, with rotation depth also on the list.
There’s also the matter of what the Diamondbacks would be leaving behind in the clubhouse. Last August, Marte missed a game at Fenway Park without permission, went on the restricted list and later apologized to his teammates.
Arizona kept pushing through the middle of a wild-card race, but if he’s still around next spring, those same teammates could be answering fresh questions about whether they trust him to show up and be dependable in 2027. That gets old fast, even for the people who want him to stay.
If Hazen gets a deal done before camp, Arizona can spend spring training focusing on the team it actually has. The players can talk about the season without every conversation circling back to Marte. That kind of quiet only goes so far, but it would spare them a spring full of awkward questions.
So yes, the Padres would be happy to see Marte out of the division. They’d also be wise to hope Arizona spends the winter trying to make the trade work on its own terms. The version worth worrying about is the one where Hazen gets what he wants, patches a weakness and gives the Diamondbacks an entire spring to move on.
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