Cleveland Guardians out of the running for this offseason trade target

The Cleveland Guardians have waited too long.

On Friday, Jan. 9, the Arizona Diamondbacks officially took second baseman Ketel Marte off the trade block and committed to keeping him around for the foreseeable future. Heading into the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings, rumors began floating around that the Diamondbacks were planning to shift up the roster.

Marte, who's 32-years-old, was frustrated with the state of the organization, especially considering he's approaching the end of his prime and the Diamondbacks are slipping out of contention.

But reports never emerged that many teams were interested in making a move for him, thus the organization decided to hold on to the .281 career hitter.

Ketel Marte will not be traded this offseason, per @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/f6QKQvmrWZ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) January 9, 2026

The Guardians could have gotten a deal done

Cleveland's not in a bad spot financial, not at all.

They have the ability to make a blockbuster trade, especially given the prospects that the team has in the farm system. When the news about Marte began circulating, the Diamondbacks reportedly wanted "young major-league ready players for Marte, but also would consider prospects they could spin to a third club for the right talent."

Obviously, no one was willing to cough that up, at least not enough of it.

But that's surprising for the Guardians. They have a ton of prospects that are itching for time in the major leagues, who more than likely won't get that chance at Progressive Field. If the team were to move on from a few of them, most notably raw pitcher Daniel Espino, they could have freed up room for internal development while making a splash for a guy like Marte, who could've raised the Guardians' ceiling to World Series contention.

In 2026, a title is what manager Stephen Vogt has his eyes set on. Unfortunately for him, he'll have to chase it without a boost in play from Marte.

"We expect to go out and win every night," Vogt said. "We are trying to win as many games as we can so we can have a chance to win a World Series. I think when that's our expectation, whatever expectations or pressure is coming in from the outside, it's not as much as the pressure we put on ourselves."

The only negative to Marte would be his contract. He's currently on a six-year, $116.5 million deal that runs through the 2030 campaign with a player option in 2031.

He will be 38-years-old when he eventually ends up as a restricted free agent. At that point in time, who knows where the team would be at.

That would hinder the Guardians' ability to bring up a player like Travis Bazzana and freely give him the chance to make the infield his own. While the organization could have ended up flipping Marte down the line, it just didn't make that much sense in the short term.

It would have been nice to see Cleveland make an eye-catching move this offseason, but at the very least, the prospects the team does have are set to break out in the next two seasons. A first glance at some of those that could have been involved in a Marte trade will be at MLB's Spring Training.

The Guardians will kickstart spring training on Saturday, Feb. 21, with a matchup against the Cincinnati Reds slated for 3:05 p.m.