The MLB offseason is often the craziest of all the major sports, with a flurry of high-priced signings and blockbuster trades a yearly inevitability.
Free agency is always the basis for most of the major moves, but a handful of franchise-changing players, while highly coveted, still find their way into trade discussions every year, and 2025 is no different. With All-Stars including Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds’ aces Joe Ryan and Hunter Greene, and Miami Marlins’ starter Sandy Alcantara headlining this cycle of trade rumors, a chaotic offseason is almost guaranteed.
A new name has begun to be floated among league circles, after briefly being talked about last season as a trade candidate: Arizona Diamondbacks’ three-time All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte.
USA Today writer and top MLB insider Bob Nightengale published a piece on Monday morning that included Marte’s potential availability, and certainly made it seem like an eventual trade is more likely than once expected.
“The Diamondbacks will ask for a lot in return [for Marte],” Nightengale said. “But they are definitely motivated in moving him with $71 million remaining through 2030.”
The Philadelphia Phillies are annually right in the middle of the offseason rumor mill when it comes to the top players on the market, and Marte offers the club an opportunity to make a massive splash. The 32-year-old is coming off a third consecutive 4.0-WAR season in 2025 and would be a substantial upgrade to an offense that has repeatedly let down its elite pitching staff in the postseason.
If Marte is truly available for trade, the Phillies should send a full-court press for his services and do everything possible to bring the superstar to Philadelphia.
Price Shouldn’t Matter
Ketel Marte is an absolute gamechanger, plain and simple.
