Third Baseman Ketel Marte Is On the Boston Red Sox's Radar

[Matthew Lenz]

The Boston Red Sox are reportedly looking to shore up their Keystone by kicking the tires on a three-time National League All-Star second baseman.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently ranked Ketel Marte as the third-best trade candidate on the market. Nightengale identifies pitching as a need for the Arizona Diamondbacks, of which the Red Sox have plenty after acquiring Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals last week. Marte has five years left on a deal he signed last spring, totaling $116.5 million, with $46 million in deferrals.

Marte, 32, posted a +5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a +3 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 2025. Offensively, he scored 87 runs with 28 home runs and four stolen bases. He carried an .893 OPS, .381 wOBA, and a 145 wRC+; he's a plus player on both sides of the ball.

Do you think the Red Sox should trade for Marte? Let us know in the comments!

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[notin]

Yeah !! Interest!!

Trade for Marte, sign Alonso, get an RP or two, maybe a catcher (maybe), start the season...

 

[notin]

Boston gets Ketel Marte

Philadelphia gets Jarren Duran

Arizona gets SS Aiden Miller, LHP Kyle Harrison

[Duran Is The Man]

shouldn't this say Second Baseman? he's played a grand total of three games at third in his MLB career.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

shouldn't this say Second Baseman? he's played a grand total of three games at third in his MLB career.

Besides Bregman and Alonso, Marte is the third baseman the Sox have targeted this winter. 

Sanity is what drives me crazy.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Yeah !! Interest!!

Trade for Marte, sign Alonso, get an RP or two, maybe a catcher (maybe), start the season...

 

Marte, Alonso, Gray, and 2-3 complimentary pieces would have me pleased with the offseason personally.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Boston gets Ketel Marte

Philadelphia gets Jarren Duran

Arizona gets SS Aiden Miller, LHP Kyle Harrison

Boston gets Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno

Philadelphia gets Jarren Duran

Arizona gets SS Aiden Miller, LHP Kyle Harrison, Dobbins, Valera, Wong

Bolded, italicized are my (greedy) additions

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Boston gets Ketel Marte

Philadelphia gets Jarren Duran

Arizona gets SS Aiden Miller, LHP Kyle Harrison

Sing me up! I'd add another guy like Sandlin or Mullins... maybe more.

[JoeBrady]

Third Baseman Ketel Marte

It distresses me when writers make an error on the first word they write.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Third Baseman Ketel Marte

It distresses me when writers make an error on the first word they write.

I rubbed my eyes on that headline.

[vjcsmoke]

From what I can tell he is mostly a 2nd baseman. Early in his career he had a short stint at SS but made way too many errors which is why I  believe he has stuck to 2nd base ever since. He has been deployed as an emergency CF but through his long career has only played 3B three times according to MLB reference.

It really depends on the price tag because Marte is already turning 32 this season. You don't want to give up too much of the future for him. And don't we have a promising young 2B prospect already who would get blocked by him?

From what I've read they would want Connelly Early for him. Is that too high a price to pay? Marte will be set to make 16m dollars in 2026 if salary is a concern.

[notin]

18 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Sing me up! I'd add another guy like Sandlin or Mullins... maybe more.

You’d throw MORE PENNIES at it?!?

[notin]

1 hour ago, vjcsmoke said:

From what I can tell he is mostly a 2nd baseman. Early in his career he had a short stint at SS but made way too many errors which is why I  believe he has stuck to 2nd base ever since. He has been deployed as an emergency CF but through his long career has only played 3B three times according to MLB reference.

It really depends on the price tag because Marte is already turning 32 this season. You don't want to give up too much of the future for him. And don't we have a promising young 2B prospect already who would get blocked by him?

From what I've read they would want Connelly Early for him. Is that too high a price to pay? Marte will be set to make 16m dollars in 2026 if salary is a concern.

That does give me pause.  Which, really, any deal for Marte should.

I think the Sox need to break up the OF logjam.  I like the SP as is and don’t think any Duran/Cole Ragans deal is forthcoming.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

30 minutes ago, notin said:

That does give me pause.  Which, really, any deal for Marte should.

I think the Sox need to break up the OF logjam.  I like the SP as is and don’t think any Duran/Cole Ragans deal is forthcoming.  

I don't think Early or Tolle get traded this winter. They have potential to be good big league starting pitchers -- at minimum wage for awhile -- which is something the Boston Red Sox haven't had in ages.

Perhaps the front office -- like some of us amateur assistant VPs of the keyboards -- doesn't consider 2026 as the year to go all in full throttle for World Series rings. I have no basis for my take except for strong coffee...

This upcoming season likely contains a lot of wait and see: 1). will any among Early, Tolle, and comebacking Crawford, Dobbins, Sandoval etc. emerge as rotation standouts? 2). Will any among Rafaela, Abreu/Duran and comebacking Casas and Mayer improve to become potential All-Stars? 3). Finally, will Anthony continue to progress into a star and develop the consistent power this line-up craves more than anything?

If the Sox get positives from all three and become serious contenders, then we might see serious Brez activity by summer's trade deadline...

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, notin said:

That does give me pause.  

Yeah......menopause

(giggles to self)

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, notin said:

You’d throw MORE PENNIES at it?!?

Maybe a nickel!

[moonslav59]

KMarte would be a great get, and his AAV is way lower than a FA will be, which might give us the chance at signing one with the KMarte ($19.5AAV) salary added. If we include Duran (7.7) and or Campbell (7.5) the salary hit would be lessened.

I'm not sure we could afford Marte + Alonso, but maybe KMarte + Okamoto,Iami or Suarez.

[notin]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I don't think Early or Tolle get traded this winter. They have potential to be good big league starting pitchers -- at minimum wage for awhile -- which is something the Boston Red Sox haven't had in ages.

Perhaps the front office -- like some of us amateur assistant VPs of the keyboards -- doesn't consider 2026 as the year to go all in full throttle for World Series rings. I have no basis for my take except for strong coffee...

This upcoming season likely contains a lot of wait and see: 1). will any among Early, Tolle, and comebacking Crawford, Dobbins, Sandoval etc. emerge as rotation standouts? 2). Will any among Rafaela, Abreu/Duran and comebacking Casas and Mayer improve to become potential All-Stars? 3). Finally, will Anthony continue to progress into a star and develop the consistent power this line-up craves more than anything?

If the Sox get positives from all three and become serious contenders, then we might see serious Brez activity by summer's trade deadline...

Obviously anyone is available in the proverbial “right deal,” but beyond that, I’d like to think both Early and Tolle are untouchable.   Not sure if Marte is the right deal.  Hunter Greene?  Ok.  Marte?  I am glad I’m not the guy making the call…

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, notin said:

Obviously anyone is available in the proverbial “right deal,” but beyond that, I’d like to think both Early and Tolle are untouchable.   Not sure if Marte is the right deal.  Hunter Greene?  Ok.  Marte?  I am glad I’m not the guy making the call…

It's hard to know what AZ would demand, but you know they will want Tolle and or Early. I'd try to find a way to make the deal happen without one of them. If they want Duran or Campbell, I'd start there. I'd try to push Crawford, Dobbins, Perales or Harrison over Early/Tolle/Valera/Fajardo, but we might have to add a third piece to get them to agree: maybe Arias, Garcia, Phillips... (I doubt Sandlin, Romero or Mullins moves the needle enough.)

[Old Red]

54 minutes ago, notin said:

Obviously anyone is available in the proverbial “right deal,” but beyond that, I’d like to think both Early and Tolle are untouchable.   Not sure if Marte is the right deal.  Hunter Greene?  Ok.  Marte?  I am glad I’m not the guy making the call…

Early, and Tolle untouchable? They’ve got 35 career innings between them. I would think they are far from untouchable. Hurst, and Lester they are Not after throwing such few innings, and may not ever be, so wheel em, and deal em.🤭

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I would prefer not to deal 2 rare players, pitchers developed through the Red Sox system, for a position player in his 30's.  

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Early, and Tolle untouchable? They’ve got 35 career innings between them. I would think they are far from untouchable. Hurst, and Lester they are Not after throwing such few innings, and may not ever be, so wheel em, and deal em.🤭

So trade ther for a 32yo second baseman owed $90mill over the next 5 years.  And then not be able to afford any pitching in that timeframe! Yay!

And while the odds are against it, no one knows if they are the next Lester yet.  When Lester came up, the first impression of him was less than that of Kason Gabbard.  How many even remember Gabbard?

But, hey, theyre not Lester after 35 IP so trade them away…

[FredLynn]

23 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Boston gets Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno

Philadelphia gets Jarren Duran

Arizona gets SS Aiden Miller, LHP Kyle Harrison, Dobbins, Valera, Wong

Bolded, italicized are my (greedy) additions

I would be shocked if we got Marte OR Alonso OR Schwarber. I think the most likely scenario is that Bregman is resigned and they call it a day.

[Old Red]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

So trade ther for a 32yo second baseman owed $90mill over the next 5 years.  And then not be able to afford any pitching in that timeframe! Yay!

And while the odds are against it, no one knows if they are the next Lester yet.  When Lester came up, the first impression of him was less than that of Kason Gabbard.  How many even remember Gabbard?

But, hey, theyre not Lester after 35 IP so trade them away…

I was specifically talking about Tolle, and Early not being untouchable, and not necessarily trading for any one player. NO they are not Lester, or anything close after 35 innings. In other words still SUSPECTS at this point despite some thinking otherwise at this point.🙈

[mvp 78]

38 minutes ago, notin said:

So trade ther for a 32yo second baseman owed $90mill over the next 5 years.  And then not be able to afford any pitching in that timeframe! Yay!

And while the odds are against it, no one knows if they are the next Lester yet.  When Lester came up, the first impression of him was less than that of Kason Gabbard.  How many even remember Gabbard?

But, hey, theyre not Lester after 35 IP so trade them away…

I remember Kason Gabbard, but I think my impression was much smaller than that of yours (especially when you looked at the MiLB numbers). 

[mvp 78]

Lester after 35IP:

7 GS, 7.96 k/9, 2.89 ERA

Gabbard first season:

7 G, 5.26 k/9, 3.66 ERA

Which to pick? Which to pick? Hmmm... 🤔

 

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Lester after 35IP:

7 GS, 7.96 k/9, 2.89 ERA

Gabbard first season:

7 G, 5.26 k/9, 3.66 ERA

Which to pick? Which to pick? Hmmm... 🤔

 

Exactly. It’s to early to tell if they are going to be any good, or not, or even more should be untouchable.

[Old Red]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I remember Kason Gabbard, but I think my impression was much smaller than that of yours (especially when you looked at the MiLB numbers). 

How about the infamous Billy Rohr in 1967. His first start he came within 1 out of a no hitter against the Yankees, and then his next start pitched a per complete game against the Yankees allowing 1 run, and then was really not heard from much after that.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Juan Pena, age 22 in 1999: 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 15 K, 3 BB... made two starts, threw 13 nasty innings and gave up one run...

... then blew out his elbow and never pitched again in the majors.

Sox sure could've used Pena in the '99 postseason, when the rotation was Pedro and wait til Pedro can pitch again.

[notin]

21 minutes ago, Old Red said:

How about the infamous Billy Rohr in 1967. His first start he came within 1 out of a no hitter against the Yankees, and then his next start pitched a per complete game against the Yankees allowing 1 run, and then was really not heard from much after that.

Well since that didn’t work 60 years ago, clearly it should be the path forever…