Monday, November 02

Welcome to the D-backs Beat newsletter! I’m Steve Gilbert and I’ve been writing about the D-backs since 1998.

With the World Series over, Hot Stove season is officially underway, and once again it seems one of the biggest questions for the Diamondbacks during the winter will be what to do with second baseman Ketel Marte. 

Last season, Arizona GM Mike Hazen acknowledged that he listened to offers for Marte, and when he did not get what he deemed to be fair value, Hazen elected to keep Marte. 

At the time, that seemed to close the door on any Marte trade talk. The veteran is under contract through 2030 with a player option for 2031, and this past April received his 10-and-5 rights, which means that he can veto any trade.

Then came last August, when Marte failed to show up at Fenway Park for a game and was placed on the restricted list and eventually on the injured list. It was not the first time that Marte had an unexcused absence from the team.

After Marte had a sit-down with Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo to clear the air and Marte apologized to his teammates, all sides agreed to move on and focus on trying to make the postseason.

Now, though, with the Diamondbacks looking for a way to change the mix on a team that has come within a game or two of making the playoffs the past three seasons, the prospect of trading Marte appears to be back on the table.

“I think we need to look at some ways to shake the team up a little bit,” Hazen said. “I think we’ve had this team together for a long time. We’ve had some success, but we’re going to find ways to make some changes in some cases. I don’t know where that’s going to take us.” 

Trading Marte is complicated by a number of factors.  

The first is the fact that he can veto any trade, so unlike last offseason, the team would have to get him to agree to any deal, and it's not known how he might feel about that. 

Then there's his no-show at Fenway Park last season, combined with a couple of other incidents in prior years that could make opposing teams think twice about wanting to acquire him. 

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A baseball source, however, said that teams have inquired about whether Marte would be available, and last year's incident was not deemed a dealbreaker by them. 

Finally, Hazen regards Marte as a superstar player and set a very high price for Marte last year. Would Hazen be willing to accept less this time around?  

On the other hand, though his numbers were down this year, Marte remains a dangerous hitter and good defender, and there don't seem to be a lot of impact bats on the free-agent market this offseason. 

In addition, Marte's contract is very reasonable for a player of his stature, as he is owed $89.25 million over the next five seasons.

The Diamondbacks will look to add a bat to their lineup next year in an effort to improve their performance against right-handed pitching, which was a weak spot for them in 2026. 

Hazen said that while a left-handed bat would be preferable, a right-handed bat could also help, provided it's someone who's had success against righties.  

The Diamondbacks have some positional flexibility in acquiring a bat. Nolan Arenado's willingness to play some first base opens up the corners, while the outfield is not set in stone, and there's still a designated hitter spot as well. 

Whether the bat comes from a trade or free agency remains to be seen, but the team has said that the payroll, which was over $200 million this year, will come down a bit next year.  

It's worth noting that ownership in the past has been willing to exceed its budget if the right player has been available, but with raises for players in arbitration years and players under long-term contracts, the Diamondbacks already have about $170 million committed for next year. 

The Diamondbacks return several important pieces from one of the league's best bullpens in lefty Brandyn Garcia and right-handers Juan Morillo and Justin Martinez, but Hazen will at least need to add a couple of arms for depth in addition to some of the younger arms coming up through the system.

"Historically, there's been ways to be creative in finding guys in the bullpen, and that's an area that we need to continue to improve and build back up again," he said.

While adding a controllable starting pitcher would be nice, it's not as much of a priority as adding a bat, but Hazen will remain open-minded if there is a deal to be made. 

The GM also said he would be willing to dip into his prospect group if need be to fortify the roster. 

The team will look to see what trades they can get done this month starting with the upcoming GM Meetings in Las Vegas.

"There's not a ton of corner bats out on the market, but there'll be some," Hazen said. "And so I think trades is probably more the area that we'll try to be aggressive in. So that's where our primary focus is going to be to start for these next couple weeks." 

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