All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte has no ill feelings after the Arizona Diamondbacks were open to the possibility of trading him this offseason, saying “I want to be here.”
“It’s baseball, I understand the business side of it and how it works,” Marte told MLB.com after reporting early to camp in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Marte signed a six-year, $116.5 million extension with the Diamondbacks in April 2025 and then went out and posted a season in which he hit .283 with 28 home runs, 72 RBIs and scored 87 runs while earning his third All-Star nod.
General manager Mike Hazen, however, wanted to lower payroll and said he was willing to listen to offseason trade offers for Marte, who will acquire 10-and-5 rights to veto any trade in April.
“It never ended up getting that close,” Hazen said, according to MLB.com. “I felt like I had to do my job just to listen to what people had to say. He’s a superstar player for us, and has been for a long time, and is going to continue to be.”
Marte, 32, said he and Hazen “hashed some things out” in a face-to-face meeting after trade talks were shut down in early January.
“Everything is great,” Marte said. “Mike knows I love the D-backs, I love my teammates. Everyone knows what type of player I am, and I’m just happy it all worked out and I’m here.”
