Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said Tuesday that while a trade of All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte remains unlikely, a resolution one way or another is expected to happen “shortly.”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Hazen told MLB.com, referring to an exact timeframe on a resolution. “But this isn’t going to continue to linger. We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that [a trade of Marte] wasn’t going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that’s the case and we want to focus on other things we need to do.”
Marte has been linked to a number of teams this offseason, and a potential deal would allow Arizona to address a stated area of need: starting pitching. Marte, 32, is a three-time All-Star and a career .281 hitter who has hit at least 25 home runs for three years running.
He also has five affordable years left on the six-year, $116.5 million contract he signed this spring, making him especially attractive to potential suitors.
Hazen told MLB.com that while there had been progress on talks for Marte with other teams, nothing has gotten close to what the Diamondbacks are seeking. The GM added that he has told teams that talks will break off soon.
“We’re going to need to start focusing on our position-player group at some point a little more specifically,” Hazen told the website. “That’s the other reason to finalize what we’re doing with other players, so we have a little more direction on what we can do and what it might look like.”