Red Sox's Silver Lining As Ketel Marte Sweepstakes Ends With No Deal

The Boston Red Sox were among the teams most heavily linked to Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Ketel Marte when it seemed as though he may be traded. That reportedly is not the case any longer, though.

On Dec. 30, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen made it sound like a deal involving Marte was unlikely. At the time he didn't rule anything out, but did acknowledge that the club wasn't going to let the idea of a move "linger" much longer.

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"I haven’t figured that out yet,” Hazen said of the timeline, as transcribed by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. “But this isn’t going to continue to linger. We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that (a Ketel Marte trade) 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."

Now, an answer has been reported. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on X on Friday that Marte will not be traded.

"Ketel Marte will remain with the Diamondbacks, source tells The Athletic. He will not be traded," Rosenthal wrote on X.

What this means for the Red Sox

The Marte update is both positive and a bit negative. Let's start with the negative. Boston has been one of the teams most consistently linked to Marte throughout the offseason since the winter meetings. Marte is a talented player and already has an affordable, long-term deal. If the Red Sox landed the three-time All-Star, he would've been able to plug up second base for the organization and solve the team's search for a second big bat. Second base has been a real question for Boston for years at this point. Marte would've been a good solution, although he would've cost an arm and a leg.

The Red Sox have been linked to a handful of big-name offensive players. Marte's another off the board, like Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber. As options continue to fly off the board, it just makes the team's pursuit of Alex Bregman even more important. If he goes elsewhere, that would be very tough for the organization. Bo Bichette has been linked to the organization, but he's going to be very expensive and has a healthy market himself. If Bichette signs elsewhere first, that would hurt Boston's leverage in the Bregman market. More options are better in negotiations and now another is off the board.

But, let's look at the positive side now. Arizona was a team heavily linked to Bregman. But reports have pointed to Arizona likely needing to offload Marte's contract to free up enough cash for Bregman. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the most recent reporter to make this claim on Wednesday.

Now that Rosenthal is reporting that Marte is not being moved, that would seemingly be a good sign for one less suitor in the Bregman market. Boston isn't out of the woods yet. The Chicago Cubs have been heavily linked to Bregman as well. The market dynamic continues to change. If the Diamondbacks are out, that would be lovely for Boston. But if it wants Bregman back, it still has to make an offer he would accept. The games continue.

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