D-backs save Guardians from themselves with latest Ketel Marte update

At long last, an offseason transaction broke the Guardians away. 

After two months of the American League getting better and better thanks to impact trades and free agent signings, we got confirmation on Friday that at least one impact player will be staying in the National League thanks to the Diamondbacks pulling second baseman Ketel Marte off the trade market. 

While that hurts a little bit given how good of a fit Marte would have been in Cleveland, the fact that he’s going to stay on the other side of the country is a good thing when it comes to the Guardians’ standing in the American League. 

The Diamondbacks did the Guardians a favor by holding onto Ketel Marte 

While there was likely some tension with Marte behind the scenes, the team’s problems with him began to play out in public in August when the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reported some players on the teams were frustrated with Marte’s tendency to miss games. 

While Marte ended up putting together another productive season (.283 batting average, 28 home runs, 72 RBI), his name has been floated in trade rumors all offseason even though Arizona general manager Mike Hazen kept downplaying the possibility of a trade. 

That scenario ended up playing out, as Hazen and his team decided to hold on Marte as they look to make a run in 2026. 

This offseason likely stands out as Hazen’s best chance to trade Marte since he’ll gain the ability to veto any trade 10 days into the season since he’ll have 10 years of service and five consecutive with the same club.

He already has a limited five-team no-trade list that includes the Athletics, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. 

Marte’s also on one of the more team-friendly deals for a superstar, as he’s owed $102.5 million over the next six seasons, which means he has a very affordable AAV of $17 million. That contract was part of the reason why Hazen was asking so much for Marte, and likely part of the reason why he’s going to enter the 2026 season as a member of the Diamondbacks. 

It’s not hard to imagine how Marte would help the Guardians (and seemingly any other team in baseball) considering the amount of production he provides at second base. Marte led all qualified second basemen with a 145 wRC+ in 2025, and was a star for the Diamondbacks in their run to the World Series in 2023. 

He’d be an obvious upgrade over Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias, though having him on the roster would make it tougher for Travis Bazzana to have a clear path to the bigs. 

But it’s arguably just as big of a win that Marte’s going to stay in the National League unlike fellow senior circuit alums like Pete Alonso, Willson Contreras and Brandon Nimmo. 

Even though it would be fun to imagine Marte holding court on Progressive Field’s infield, having him far, far away from the American League postseason picture is just as much of a win.