Toronto Blue Jays Rumors: Could Team Be Trade Fit For Ketel Marte?

On Monday, MLBTradeRumors listed as the Toronto Blue Jays as one of the "best fits" in a trade for Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, who could be available this offseason.

There's a lot of potential things going on here, so let's break things down step-by-step.

Now 33 years old, Marte is a 12-year veteran of the Seattle Mariners and Diamondbacks. A three-time All-Star, he's also a two-time Silver Slugger. He won MVP of the 2023 National League Championship Series as the D'backs got to the World Series.

He's a career .277 hitter with 193 home runs.

Marte had a down year in 2026, hitting just .249 with 22 homers and 76 RBIs, but he is just two years removed from a third-place finish in the National League MVP voting. He hit .292 with 36 homers in 2024 and .283 with 28 homers in 2025.

Marte has four guaranteed years and nearly $78 million remaining, and he also has a player option for 2031, giving him essentially five years and almost $90 million left.

While that's a lot for player who will be playing in their age 33-37 seasons, an average of almost $18 million per season is certainly affordable for a player with the kind of potential impact that Marte could have.

Marte has full no-trade protection, so any deal would have to be approved by him.

And remember this: the lockout could play a part on all sides of this. Do the D'backs want to shed money because of the financial uncertainty? Are the Blue Jays willing to take money on? Those are factors too.

They finished last in the league in runs scored and they finished last in the league home runs. Marte helps on both fronts. It's really that simple, but beyond that, Marte will likely cost less than free agent sluggers Seiya Suzuki and Randy Arozarena, and they won't have to give up draft pick compensation. Both those players received qualifying offers from their original teams.

Would the Jays rather take on Marte's money at his age, while also giving up players, or would they rather simply sign someone in free agency like Jazz Chisholm Jr., who we've discussed recently?

Marte also has a reputation as not necessarily being a great and dependable teammate. Is that something that the generally close Blue Jays clubhouse wants to introduce?

And of course, if the Blue Jays are bringing in a second baseman, they have to first decide that they want to upgrade from Ernie Clement.