Interest across Major League Baseball in Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman has continued to intensify, with the list of suitors growing almost by the day. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, both the Seattle Mariners and the Pittsburgh Pirates have now emerged among the most recent teams to inquire about the three-time All-Star’s availability. Their inclusion adds even more intrigue to what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched potential trade storylines of the offseason.
Heyman’s report aligns with earlier indications from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who linked the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Detroit Tigers to Marte earlier in the day. These teams join the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays, both of whom reportedly reached out to Arizona last month.
Additionally, John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports noted back in mid-November that at least seven clubs had already checked in on Marte, though he declined to identify any specific organizations at that time. With these latest developments, the collection of known interested teams has now reached that seven-team threshold, though it remains unclear whether this is the exact group Gambadoro referenced or simply an overlap with some additions.
For the Mariners, the possibility of adding a high-impact infielder such as Marte comes at a moment of transition. Veterans Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez are both heading into free agency, leaving two notable openings in Seattle’s infield alignment. While the Mariners could explore reuniting with either Polanco or Suárez, and while there are internal candidates who could step into those roles, a player of Marte’s caliber would represent a major upgrade.
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Over the past decade, Marte has established himself as one of the premier second basemen in baseball. He placed fourth in National League MVP voting during his breakout 2019 season and once again finished among the league’s elite with a third-place finish in 2024. His offensive excellence has earned him back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards, further solidifying his status as a top-tier producer at his position.
Marte’s 2025 campaign once again reflected his consistency and impact. He produced a .283/.376/.517 slash line, continuing to showcase his blend of power, plate discipline, and contact ability. He surpassed the 25-home-run mark for the third consecutive season, reinforcing his emergence as a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat.
While injuries and short absences limited him to 126 games, he still logged over 550 plate appearances for the fourth season in a row. Aside from the hamstring issues that disrupted his 2021 year, Marte has displayed notable durability and reliability throughout his nine seasons in Arizona.
A trade that would bring Marte back to Seattle would carry a strong sense of symmetry. The Mariners originally signed him as an international prospect in 2011. He made his MLB debut with the club in 2015 and performed well in limited action, delivering a 112 wRC+ across 57 games. However, when given a larger role in 2016, he struggled to maintain that early success and missed time due to both a thumb sprain and a bout of mononucleosis.
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Seattle ultimately traded him along with pitcher Taijuan Walker to the Diamondbacks after the 2016 season in a substantial deal that returned Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis. Although Segura and Haniger each went on to contribute meaningfully in Seattle, neither reached the star-level production that Marte eventually achieved in Arizona.
Even after sending top catching prospect Harry Ford to the Washington Nationals earlier this offseason in exchange for reliever José A. Ferrer, the Mariners still remain well-equipped to pursue high-end players on the trade market. MLB.com ranked Seattle’s farm system as the third-best in baseball in its 2025 midseason update, trailing only the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers. With multiple upper-level prospects and a deep minor-league pipeline, the Mariners have the pieces to make a competitive offer if they choose to aggressively target Marte.
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Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates have also been active in trade discussions this winter. The organization recently moved pitcher Johan Oviedo and a pair of minor leaguers in a deal that brought back outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and an additional pitching prospect. Garcia will now join a young and dynamic outfield mix that already features Oneil Cruz—who continues to transition between shortstop and the outfield—and star left fielder Bryan Reynolds. However, Pittsburgh’s infield remains an area in need of upgrades.
The Pirates cycled through numerous options at second base in 2025, with former first-round pick Nick Gonzales receiving the majority of opportunities at the position (359 plate appearances) and veteran Adam Frazier taking on a secondary role before being traded to the Kansas City Royals at the deadline. Gonzales may end up shifting to shortstop next season, creating an even greater vacancy at second base.
That leaves Nick Yorke and Tsung-Che Cheng as the primary internal candidates to handle the keystone in 2026. The team also recently claimed Marco Luciano off waivers, though he spent last season exclusively in the outfield and as a designated hitter, offering no recent experience in the infield.
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Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles make their interest in a player like Marte easy to understand. The Pirates ranked just 23rd in OPS at second base last season and fared poorly at virtually every other position as well, ultimately finishing dead last in runs scored across the league. In fact, Pittsburgh has been among the bottom 10 teams in scoring for seven consecutive seasons and has found itself as the single lowest-scoring club three times during that span.
While adding Garcia represents a positive step toward increasing their offensive output, acquiring a star-level hitter such as Marte would transform the lineup on a much more dramatic scale. MLB.com placed Pittsburgh’s farm system ninth overall in its most recent rankings, meaning the Pirates theoretically possess the prospect depth required to enter serious trade talks with Arizona. However, prying a franchise cornerstone like Marte from the Diamondbacks would demand a substantial return.
In summary, as Ketel Marte continues to draw widespread attention from across the league, both the Mariners and Pirates have emerged as teams with compelling motivations to pursue him. With multiple other clubs also expressing interest, the Diamondbacks appear to hold one of the most valuable trade chips of the offseason, setting the stage for a potentially significant move should they decide to engage in negotiations.
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