GM Mike Hazen made waves yesterday in that corner of the market, however, when he noted that he plans to put an end to conversations regarding a Marte trade in the near future. Hazen's suggestion was that the club simply pulling Marte off the table for negotiations was a more likely outcome than a trade coming together at this point. That's been Hazen's stance all throughout the offseason, as he has long said he didn't foresee Arizona dealing a star player this winter.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that conversations with the Rays have kicked around a framework that would send both Ryan Pepiot and to the desert. Piecoro writes that nothing is believed to be close on that front and the Rays are not necessarily any kind of frontrunner. Indeed, he adds that the Diamondbacks have had conversations with another team interested in Marte that would be built around a bigger-name starting pitcher.
Marte, who has mostly been a secondbaseman over the last few years, has been one of the premier players in the National League going all the way back to 2018. While he's only made three All-Star appearances since then, he's also been worth more than 2.0 bWAR five times since he joined Arizona in 2017. He also seems to be getting better with age, winning back to back Silver Slugger awards,
When Marte returned to the game, and was up at bat, the White Sox displayed the message "The White Sox Community Supports Ketel Marte," which elicited thunderous applause from the audience.
