The Diamondbacks will not trade second baseman Ketel Marte, general manager Mike Hazen said on Friday, bringing an end to months of discussions about a possible deal.
Hazen maintained a high price tag for his longtime star, one that no team was willing to meet.
Hazen said there were “probably four” teams seriously engaged in trade talks, adding that serious offers were made. That said, he did not feel they were “all that close” to a deal.
“Just didn’t think they (the offers) were reflective enough of the caliber, quality and talent — and obviously on the contract that he’s on,” Hazen said. “We just didn’t get there.”
Hazen said he has spoken with Marte over the phone and plans to sit down with him in person when he arrives in Arizona in the coming weeks. He said he does not anticipate any hard feelings from Marte’s side.
“Look, I don’t love doing it (considering a trade) for the human factor,” Hazen said. “I know it puts players in an awkward situation. It’s not, obviously, ever a personal thing. It’s just something that you feel like you have to do to do your job.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Ketel Marte jogs to first base after flying out during the third inning against the Minnesota Twins, Sept. 14, 2025, in Minneapolis.
"We’re happy he’s still here. I know his teammates are going to be happy he’s still here."
Hazen added: “He’s a pro. He’s going to be a top 10 MVP-performing player in the league next year, and he’ll be fine.”
With the Diamondbacks’ roster decimated by injuries, particularly to the pitching staff, Hazen said he felt exploring a Marte trade was the right thing to do to “build a (winning) team.” In theory, a Marte deal would have brought back younger, cheaper players while also freeing up payroll space that then could have been reallocated.
To that point, the lack of a Marte deal appears to diminish the club’s chances of landing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. A club source said it would be “difficult” to see a deal coming together with Bregman, especially when considering the Diamondbacks still have other roster needs — namely in the bullpen — that have yet to be addressed.
The D-backs seemed motivated to make a Marte deal happen, though not enough to take a lesser return than what they deemed appropriate.
“We had teams flat out of hand be like, ‘Yeah, we can’t do anything like that,’” Hazen said. “I’m sure they hung up the phone and were like, ‘They’re crazy.’
“But I don’t know. What am I supposed to do? Like, I’m going to sell short on a superstar player? No chance. That was never happening. In order for us to ever consider making a deal, it would have to be a great deal for both teams.
"The other team was going to get a great deal because they were going to get a great player.”
Sources with multiple teams said that Arizona’s ask for Marte started with an established starting pitcher. They wanted other pieces added to the deal beyond that.
A source with a National League club said he felt the Diamondbacks’ price tag was “reasonable” given Marte’s production and the affordable contract to which he is signed.
“To be honest with you,” the source said, “I don’t know all the details, but what I will say is, I’m very surprised that he wasn’t moved based on his ability and how he could impact an organization with the needs.”
Executives with other teams had reservations about Marte’s makeup and how he would fit in a new clubhouse, concerns that were exacerbated by an incident in July in which Marte sat out multiple games after the All-Star break following a robbery at his Scottsdale home. Marte later apologized for missing time.
Marte’s trade market might also have been impacted by a slow-moving free-agent class, particularly at the top. Four-star position players — outfielders Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger and infielders Bo Bichette and Bregman — remain unsigned, and their availability might have made clubs less eager to pay the freight in talent the Diamondbacks wanted, even if Marte’s remaining contract (six years, $102.5 million) were a bargain relative to market prices.
He could have waited for those players to come off the board, but Hazen did not want talks to drag out too much beyond the start of the new year and possibly prevent him from making other moves.
Keeping Marte, of course, is far from a bad outcome for the D-backs. He has been the best second baseman in the majors over the past few seasons, accumulating 16 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), per Baseball-Reference, the most at the position.
“I think the team with (Corbin) Carroll, (Geraldo) Perdomo, (Gabriel) Moreno and Marte at the top of it is as strong as any top four hitters in the league,” Hazen said. “We have a lot of good, young, versatile players that are starting to trickle up. We will look to add externally and then certainly add to the pitching staff as best we can.”
Hazen said he still has payroll flexibility to make additions to his roster. He said he would like to add “a couple of relievers” and was open to further fortifying the rotation if the opportunity presented itself. The club has also been on the hunt for another hitter, likely a right-handed bat, that would fit in the first base/designated hitter space.
