ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday morning from what is the epicenter of baseball this week: the winter meetings in Orlando. The meetings have been anything but quiet this year, with the Seattle Mariners checking a major item off their wish list by acquiring left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer from the Pirates in exchange for rookie catcher Harry Ford and pitching prospect Isaac Lyon.
There is still work to be done in finding an infielder, be it Jorge Polanco, who is expected to sign with a team in the coming days, or one of the numerous players that could be acquired in trade. In looking for the best fit to fill the position, Passan sees great opportunity.
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“I think if you’re the Seattle Mariners right now, you are big game hunting,” he said. “You are going for the best players available because you were that close to getting to the World Series last year, and the team that would just hedge things out against you (the Toronto Blue Jays) got beaten in the same fashion in the World Series. So you are a true legitimate World Series contender.”
The name at the top of his list?
“I think if you get Ketel Marte, you probably go into the season as the American League favorite,” Passan said, referring to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ All-Star second baseman and the top name reportedly on the trade market.
“Depending on what Toronto does, if they go and sign Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, then maybe that’s a little bit different story. But right now, I think the Mariners can put themselves in position to be the favorites in the American League entering the 2026 season. And so if I’m running the club with the farm system that they’ve got, with the ability to move a couple of pieces and really not feel it too badly, I’m doing everything I can to get the best player possible.”
More: Can the Mariners give up what Arizona wants in Marte trade?
If Passan were in the shoes of Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen, he would ask for a package headlined by either George Kirby or Logan Gilbert in order to trade Marte back to Seattle, where his MLB career started. A steep price in terms of talent to give up, but with Marte signed to a team-friendly contract with five years and $91 million remaining, it could be a potential bargain at a critical time for the Mariners.
“Where they are right now, now’s the time to strike,” Passan said. “And if they have that money in their budget to cover a Ketel Marte contract, boy, put him in the middle of this lineup and suddenly it looks even nastier than last year’s, which is saying something.”
Could it happen?
“I think it’s possible. I don’t think it’s probable,” said Passan, who pointed out that trading Marte is not a deal Hazen must make and that there are other factors to take into consideration. “Taking a bat like that out of your lineup is a really tough thing to do.
“At the same time, there are teams that are understandably balking. Ketel Marte’s missed a lot of time. You know, there were clubhouse issues in Arizona here. So I wouldn’t say this is like a slam dunk thing, but man, when you have a talent like him, if you can bring him back home, what a great deal that would be for the Mariners.”
Another option
Beyond Polanco or Marte, there are numerous trade possibilities for the Mariners to explore that would fill an infield spot, although Passan pointed out the demand this winter is relatively high. As a result, some of the asks could be surprising, as it is in the case of Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan.
“I’m not going to say it’s going to cost as much as Ketel Marte, but it’s probably going to be pretty close,” Passan answered when asked for an estimate of a trade for Donovan.
Passan stressed that Donovan is not the hitter Marte is – nor are the majority of hitters in the league. But his value is high as he brings a ton with flexibility of position, a high average/high on-base combination, doubles power and low strikeouts, and does so at a low price with two full seasons of club control remaining.
“He’s going to play every day. He’s going to be very good,” Passan said. “But the real question there is, for a guy who’s not a big slugger, who’s never slugged over .422 in an individual season, are you really going to pay a premium price for him?”
Passan also discussed the pros and cons of trading for the Rays’ Brandon Lowe and Padres’ Jake Cronenworth, and gave Brock and Salk a look at how these deals come down at the winter meetings. You can listen to the full conversation in the video at the top of this post or podcast player below.
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