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Hazen: Ketel Marte Trade Talks Won’t Last All Offseason

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The big question of the D-Backs offseason has been whether to trade Ketel Marte. They’ve reportedly fielded calls from upwards of a third of the league with teams like the Mariners, Red Sox and Reds most prominently linked. Although general manager Mike Hazen called a trade of a star hitter “mostly unlikely” at the GM Meetings in early November, they’ve kept the line of communication open given their needs around the roster.

According to Hazen, they’re not going to maintain that posture for the entire offseason. “We’re very likely to put an end to (Marte trade talks) shortly,” the GM told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. When pressed for specifics on the timeline, Hazen said that he “(hasn’t) figured that out yet” but said they can’t afford to remain in a holding pattern for much longer. He implied they were likelier to take Marte firmly off the table rather than nearing agreement on a deal.

“We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that (a 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,” Hazen said. The GM added that talks to date haven’t gotten “anywhere near” the significant asking price they’ve set to move their star second baseman.

On one hand, it’s easy enough to write this off as a general manager trying to pressure interested clubs to raise their offers. Even if Hazen isn’t setting a public deadline, the Snakes could do so internally to get teams to make their best and final trade proposals. At the same time, this generally aligns with the GM’s stance on Marte trade rumors dating back to the summer. Speculation has abounded since August when multiple reports emerged about some of Marte’s teammates being frustrated with the number of off days that he took.

Hazen spoke with Wolf & Luke of Arizona Sports at the time and was naturally asked about the possibility of a trade. “Ketel is one of, if not our best player,” the GM said then. “He’s a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league. Yes, I do know it’s a team game and putting a team together to win baseball games is also equally important. That’s on us to figure out what the right mix of players is.

We went to the World Series with this player on our team (in 2023). … So this mindset of where he is on our team and his inability or ability to help us win is hard for me to just take that. … Where this lays down at his feet and where it’s coming from now is a little bizarre to me. I’m not ignoring the inconsistencies with some of the things that have happened. He’s addressed those things. We’ve addressed those things with him.

We’re not blind to having an imperfect clubhouse and an imperfect roster. … I’m also in a job and position to put players on the field that can win you baseball games, because ultimately that’s what this comes down to. We are going to put the best team on the field every single day we can.”

The D-Backs have nevertheless heard teams out as the clearest way to acquire controllable starting pitching. They’re expected to scale back payroll from this past season’s franchise-record $195MM mark. RosterResource currently projects them for $168MM in spending. Marte is set for a $15MM salary next season, but $6MM of that is deferred until 2036. They’re not under any financial pressure to move him, nor are they entering even a soft rebuild. The goal in trade talks would be to acquire multiple MLB or near-ready pieces who could deepen the overall roster.

Despite the payroll limitations, Arizona has addressed the rotation with a pair of free agent pickups. They brought back Merrill Kelly on a two-year, $40MM deal and added swingman Michael Soroka for a $7.5MM guarantee. They could certainly still upgrade a rotation comprising Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Soroka. It’s not as pressing a need as it was two months ago, however.

The bigger focus now should be the bullpen, which was decimated by injuries last summer and is still without top two arms Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk. The Snakes also need to decide whether they’re content with Jordan Lawlar as an everyday player (either at third base or in the outfield) and could upgrade in center field or at first base. The Marte trade rumors have come alongside reporting that the Snakes could make a surprise run at Alex Bregman.

“We’re going to need to start focusing on our position player group at some point a little more specifically,” Hazen noted to Gilbert. “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.” Readers are encouraged to check out the MLB.com column for the full scope of Hazen’s comments.

Braves, Jose Azocar Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves are in agreement with José Azocar on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The fleet-footed outfielder will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Azocar had a brief stint on Atlanta’s MLB roster this year. He signed a big league deal on May 30 and spent a little over two weeks on Brian Snitker’s bench. He was limited to two appearances, both as a late-game substitute, and flew out in his only at-bat. The Venezuela native also got into 12 games with the Mets earlier in the year. He made five starts and went 5-18 (all singles) with a pair of walks and a stolen base.

Aside from his couple weeks on Atlanta’s bench, Azocar spent the rest of the year in the Mets organization. He returned to New York on a minor league contract after the Braves cut him loose in mid-June. He played out the season at Triple-A Syracuse, batting .241/.314/.352 in just under 300 plate appearances. Azocar stole 17 bases in the minors but had his third consecutive below-average offensive season. He owns a .276/.318/.416 line over parts of five Triple-A campaigns and is a career .244/.290/.319 hitter in 418 MLB plate appearances.

Azocar isn’t going to provide much at the plate, but he’s a plus-plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. Defensive Runs Saved has rated him as an average defender in a little more than 1000 career innings. Statcast’s Outs Above Average is a little more bullish, grading him four runs above par. Most of the defensive value comes from his 2022 rookie season in San Diego, when he appeared in a career-high 98 games.

Atlanta has four established outfielders in Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Mike Yastrzemski and Jurickson Profar. They have a few out-of-options players (Mauricio Dubón, Eli White and Vidal Bruján) who could provide some speed off the bench if they make the team. Bruján’s split contract makes him a candidate to run through waivers at some point, but Azocar would remain sixth on the outfield depth chart. He’s unlikely to break camp barring an injury to someone ahead of him during Spring Training. It’s likely he’ll head to Triple-A Gwinnett to start the season.

D-Backs Re-Sign John Curtiss To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks re-signed reliever John Curtiss to a minor league contract last week (link via Arizona Sports). The righty will presumably get a non-roster invitation to Spring Training.

Curtiss returns to the desert for a second season. He’d elected free agency when the D-Backs waived him at the beginning of the offseason. The 32-year-old spent the second half of the year on the MLB roster. Arizona selected his minor league contract at the end of June. Curtiss went on to toss 36 2/3 innings of 3.93 ERA ball. He picked up three holds and even secured a late-season save, his first in the big leagues since 2020.

That marked Curtiss’ heaviest MLB workload in four years. Although the results were solid enough, he only managed a 17% strikeout rate with a 9% swinging strike mark. His fastball sat in the 94 MPH range and he leaned on a low-90s cutter as his main secondary pitch.

Curtiss was miscast for some of the high-leverage spots in which the Diamondbacks were forced to use him late in the season. He has a decent path to winning a middle relief role if he pitches well during camp. A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez will be on the injured list. They’ve yet to make any MLB additions to a bullpen that needs at least two new leverage arms. They’ve brought in Isaiah Campbell and Junior Fernández on minor league deals this winter.

Reds Remain Open To Outfield Addition

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The Reds made a pair of depth additions to the outfield last week. They brought in glove-first center fielder Dane Myers in a small trade with Miami while signing JJ Bleday to a $1.4MM reclamation deal. Neither player should be locked into everyday roles, but they’ll each compete for playing time alongside TJ Friedl and Noelvi Marte. Both acquisitions have a minor league option remaining and can be sent to Triple-A Louisville without going on waivers.

Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic write that the Reds are open to acquiring another outfielder, which they suggest is likelier to come via trade than free agency. Their left field mix is likely to feature Bleday, Gavin Lux and Will Benson — each of whom hit from the left side. Friedl is also a left-handed hitter, leaving Marte and Myers as their top right-handed options. Marte is going to be the everyday right fielder. Myers has good career numbers against left-handed pitching (.297/.360/.456) but has been almost unplayable against righties.

The Reds have some flexibility in their positional alignment. They limited Spencer Steer mostly to first base this year after he suffered a shoulder injury in Spring Training. If they feel better about testing his arm after a healthy offseason, he could pick up a few more starts in left field. Playing Steer in the outfield against left-handed pitching would free more first base at-bats for Sal Stewart, who is coming off a .309/.383/.524 showing in Triple-A. Stewart reached the big leagues late in the season and connected on five home runs in 18 games. He’s one of the organization’s most exciting offensive players, though it remains to be seen if he can handle more than spot starts at a position other than first base or designated hitter.

Acquiring a center fielder could also push Friedl into a full-time left field role. That’s easier said than done given the limited supply of center fielders on the trade market. Houston dangled Jake Meyers for starting pitching before trading Jacob Melton as part of a package to acquire Mike Burrows from Pittsburgh. The White Sox have discussed Luis Robert Jr. with the Reds, among other clubs, but his $20MM salary is a significant obstacle. Even if Chicago might be willing to pay down a portion of the contract, that’d increase their prospect demand for their talented but inconsistent center fielder.

Sammon and Woo report that the Reds have not considered trading Friedl. He’s under arbitration control for three seasons and led the team with a .364 on-base percentage (min. 200 plate appearances). Friedl was at the top of Terry Francona’s batting order for the entire year. He has serviceable range in center field but a below-average arm that would make him a better fit in left if the Reds were able to land a clear upgrade in center.

Cincinnati’s payroll projection sits around $111MM, as estimated by RosterResource. The Reds opened the 2025 season at just under $116MM. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said at the beginning of the offseason that he anticipated a similar number next year.

Dodgers Trade Esteury Ruiz To Marlins

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8:48pm: The teams officially announced the trade, and Miami confirmed that Wagaman has been designated for assignment.

6:47pm: The Dodgers are trading outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Marlins for minor league pitcher Adriano Marrero, reports Francys Romero. Miami reportedly plans to designate first baseman Eric Wagaman for assignment in a corresponding move. This drops L.A.’s roster count to 39.

Ruiz is best known for stealing an AL-leading 67 bases as a member of the Athletics in 2023. That’s the only season in which he has appeared in even 30 games at the big league level. Ruiz batted .254/.309/.345 with five home runs in 497 trips to the plate. He only walked at a 4% clip and, despite showing his plus speed on the bases, graded poorly as a center fielder.

It clearly wasn’t what the A’s had in mind when they chose Ruiz over William Contreras as the centerpiece of their return in the three-team Sean Murphy trade the previous offseason. He spent most of the ’24 season in Triple-A and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee at year’s end. The A’s cut bait this past April, designating Ruiz for assignment and trading him to Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old has only taken 88 trips to the dish at the MLB level over the past two seasons. He’s coming off a big year in Triple-A, where he hit .303/.411/.514 while going 62-73 in stolen base tries. Ruiz has shown a more patient plate approach against minor league pitching than he did during his big league run a few seasons back.

Miami preferred Ruiz to Dane Myers, another righty-hitting backup outfielder whom the Marlins traded to Cincinnati last week. Myers is a superior defensive option in center but doesn’t have Ruiz’s upside as a base stealer. Ruiz is three years younger and has better career Triple-A numbers, as he owns a .315/.418/.505 line with an 18% strikeout rate at the top minor league level. Myers has fanned in 23% of his Triple-A plate appearances and owns a .295/.380/.440 mark in 98 games. Ruiz has played in more hitter-friendly settings, but the youth and superior contact skills make him a more intriguing depth piece. Both players are entering their final minor league option year.

The Dodgers making a roster-clearing move will fuel speculation as to whether they have anything imminently planned on the free agent or trade front. To this point, there hasn’t been any indication that Los Angeles has any kind of pending move lined up. DFA limbo is frozen between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so this presumably isn’t a move to accommodate a waiver claim.

Whether they have any follow-up moves on the horizon, the Dodgers add a lottery ticket arm to the farm system. Marrero is an 18-year-old righty out of Cuba. He pitched this year in the Dominican Summer League. Marrero wasn’t ranked among Miami’s top 30 prospects but signed for a decent $350K bonus. In September, Baseball America’s Ben Badler credited the 6’3″ hurler with a three-pitch mix (low-90s sinker, sweeper, and changeup) that gets promising lateral movement. BA ranked Marrero among the 20 most intriguing pitching prospects in this year’s amateur signing class.

Marlins Designate Eric Wagaman For Assignment

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The Marlins are designating first baseman Eric Wagaman for assignment, reports Kevin Barral of Fish On First. That’ll open the 40-man roster spot to accommodate the acquisition of outfielder Esteury Ruiz when that trade is finalized.

Wagaman, 28, signed with Miami on a split contract last winter after being non-tendered by the Angels. He wound up starting more than half the club’s games at first base. The right-handed hitter held an MLB roster spot all year and tallied 514 plate appearances. His .250/.296/.378 slash line with nine home runs wasn’t enough to cut it as an everyday player at a bat-first position. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each rated him as a little worse than replacement level.

First base was probably Miami’s biggest weakness entering the offseason. One can argue that’s still the case, though it seems they’re planning to give Christopher Morel the job after signing him to a $2MM free agent contract. Morel is coming off two consecutive replacement level seasons himself. He’s a better athlete with flashier tools than Wagaman brings to the table, though, and he has a couple 20-homer seasons on his résumé.

Wagaman has better bat-to-ball skills but limited power potential. He has some flexibility in that he can play all four corner spots, though his middling speed and arm strength make him a fringe defender. Wagaman probably fits best as a bench bat who can do some damage in favorable platoon settings. He hit .283/.321/.462 with five homers, 14 doubles, and a triple in 184 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this year. Miami’s first base/DH mix with Morel, Agustín Ramírez and Heriberto Hernández already skewed right-handed.

A team that is heavier on left-handed bats could take a flier on Wagaman via small trade or waiver claim. He still has a full slate of minor league options and won’t be eligible for arbitration for at least two years. Teams ordinarily have five days after a DFA to trade a player or place them on waivers. The clock is frozen between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so Wagaman probably won’t learn where he’ll end up until the second week of January. He would not have the service time to refuse an outright assignment if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

The Giants Should Chase Upside On The Trade Market

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The Giants have been fairly quiet through the offseason's first two months. They've added back-end starter Adrian Houser on a two-year, $22MM deal with a club option. Their only other moves have been cheap fliers on rehabbing relievers Jason Foley and Sam Hentges.

While technically in line with their offseason plan to focus on pitching, their moves to date aren't the type that'll move the needle. Chairman Greg Johnson and general manager Zack Minasian have downplayed the chance of making a long-term investment on the pitching staff. There are still a handful of players on the open market who fit on paper. Any of Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez or Zac Gallen would upgrade the rotation. Top free agent hitters Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Bo Bichette happen to fit at their respective biggest problem areas on the position player side (right field and second base, respectively).

It's possible ownership doesn't want to meet the asking prices necessary for anyone in that group. The Giants project for a $176MM payroll, as calculated by RosterResource. That's narrowly above their $173MM Opening Day mark from 2025. That doesn't include the $17MM payment they owe to Blake Snell on January 15, as they agreed to defer the signing bonus on his contract for the '24 season.

They're also on the hook for one of the most expensive managerial situations in MLB. They owe fired skipper Bob Melvin a $4MM salary. They paid a $3MM buyout to the University of Tennessee to get Tony Vitello out of his contract. Vitello is reportedly set for a $3.5MM salary, meaning they're committing $10.5MM to the position for the first season.

Even with an estimated $40MM until they hit the luxury tax threshold, the budget could be tight for a marquee free agent. However, that doesn't mean the offseason needs to be exclusively depth acquisitions. The Giants have a few ways to chase the extra wins needed to push them from their annual .500 finish to more firmly in the Wild Card picture.

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Brewers Notes: Backup Catcher, Quero, Henderson

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The Brewers got through the 2025 season relying on only three catchers. William Contreras was second in MLB with 128 starts behind the dish. Eric Haase backed him up for the first half of the season. Milwaukee acquired Danny Jansen at the deadline and outrighted Haase off the 40-man roster in the corresponding move.

Haase elected minor league free agency at the end of the season. Jansen returned to the open market when the Brewers declined their end of a $12MM mutual option. He officially signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with Texas last week. That leaves Milwaukee with only two catchers on the 40-man roster: Contreras and 23-year-old prospect Jeferson Quero, whose contract was selected over the 2023-24 offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

The Venezuelan-born Quero suffered a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder one game into the ’24 Triple-A season. He underwent surgery and missed the rest of the year. Quero missed the first couple months of the ’25 campaign because of a hamstring strain. He didn’t return to Triple-A action until the beginning of June. The right-handed hitter turned in a league average .255/.336/.412 batting line in 250 plate appearances the rest of the way.

At the moment, Quero stands as the favorite for the #2 catcher job by default. Contreras is the only catcher in the organization who has played in an MLB game. Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Brewers have evaluated the market for a veteran backup but aren’t closing the door to Quero potentially breaking camp in that role. Assistant director of baseball administration Brenton Del Chiaro told Hogg that the young catcher is “pretty close” to big league readiness.

Quero showed promising contact skills against Triple-A pitching, albeit with a tendency to expand the strike zone. His combination of bat control and average pop gives him a reasonably high offensive ceiling for a #2 catcher. Quero’s calling card as a prospect had been his defense, particularly an arm that had been a weapon before the labrum injury. Baseball America’s scouting report notes that Quero’s pop times suffered in his first year back from the surgery. That’s reflected in an 18.9% caught stealing percentage that is well below the fantastic 34.6% mark he posted in Double-A in 2023.

The Brewers can option Quero to Triple-A for at least one more season. He’d be a candidate for a fourth option year as well because of the missed time in 2024. If they feel he’d benefit from more minor league time to hone his approach (or they want to see how his arm strength looks another year removed from the injury), they’d need to add someone from outside the organization. It’s not a position to which they’ll devote many resources given Contreras’ durability, but a player like Reese McGuire, Christian Vázquez or old friend Luke Maile could sign for slightly more than the league minimum. They’ll at least bring in an experienced catcher on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

Quero isn’t the only prospect who’ll be looking to establish himself in camp. Right-hander Logan Henderson impressed over his first five MLB starts but suffered a season-ending elbow injury in August. Henderson was able to resume throwing bullpen sessions by the postseason and did not require surgery. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes that he’s following a normal offseason plan and will return to working off a mound within the next couple weeks.

Henderson will enter camp battling for a spot at the back of the rotation. Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff are lined up for the top two spots, barring a trade of the former. Quinn Priester is locked into the #3 role. Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and potentially Angel Zerpa could be in the mix for back-end jobs. Zerpa would be in the bullpen if he doesn’t win a rotation role. Everyone from that group aside from Woodruff and Peralta have minor league options remaining, so the Brewers have a lot of flexibility in moving pitchers up and down from Triple-A Nashville.

A’s Likely To Rely On Internal Options At Third Base

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The A’s added to their infield with this week’s acquisition of Jeff McNeil from the Mets. The A’s sent a lottery ticket pitching prospect (Yordan Rodriguez) while taking on $10MM of the $17.75MM remaining on the veteran’s contract.

Adding help at one of second or third base had been on the A’s checklist since the beginning of the offseason. It seems they’re content with one outside pickup. General manager David Forst told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that the A’s view McNeil as their primary second baseman. They’re planning to leave the third base job open for a Spring Training competition among a few players already on the roster.

“We’ll probably look internally at third base,” Forst told Gallegos. “Max Muncy did a really nice job there in his limited time. Darell Hernaiz has shown he can play the position. Brett Harris has a lot of experience at third base. So I like our internal options.” Forst didn’t specifically mention Zack Gelof, who is questionable for the start of exhibition play as he works back from September shoulder surgery. Gelof was a college third baseman but hasn’t played anywhere other than second since he reached Triple-A at the end of the 2022 season.

None of Muncy, Harris or Hernaiz showed a lot in limited big league playing time. Harris was the best of the group offensively, hitting .274 with a .349 on-base percentage. That came in just 84 plate appearances, and he was a .146/.276/.262 hitter in a similar amount of playing time as a rookie the year before. Muncy struck out in 31% of his first 220 trips to the plate in the big leagues, leading to a .214/.259/.379 slash. Hernaiz made a ton of contact with below-average exit velocities. He only managed two homers and a .231/.292/.306 line over 197 trips to the plate. Gelof showed some promise when he hit 14 homers in 69 games as a rookie in 2023. He led the American League in strikeouts in his first full season and battled injuries for most of the ’25 campaign, dropping him down the depth chart.

It’s one of the weakest third base groups in MLB on paper. 19-year-old top prospect Leo De Vries is likely to open the season in Double-A. It’s not out of the question that he forces his way to the big leagues before the end of the year, especially if the A’s hang around the playoff bubble. That won’t be a consideration out of the gate, so the A’s will need someone from their group of upper level infielders to take a step forward.

If the A’s wanted to go outside the organization, they could probably get a veteran like Yoán Moncada or Ramón Urías on a cheap one-year deal closer to Spring Training. That doesn’t appear to be the current plan. The McNeil acquisition pushed their projected payroll to $87MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s $12MM above where they opened the ’25 season. They’ve yet to make any moves to upgrade a rotation which was 27th in ERA and 25th in strikeout percentage. Forst reiterated to Gallegos that acquiring a starter is the “first focus right now.”

Cardinals Looking To Add Right-Handed Hitting Outfielder

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The Cardinals’ offseason is focused mostly on the players they’re trading away. Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras have already been shipped out, and it’s possible that each of Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and JoJo Romero will also find themselves on the move. That doesn’t mean they won’t make some short-term pickups. They’ve added Dustin May on a $12.5MM deal in the rotation, and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom identified a profile they’re pursuing on the position player side.

Bloom told reporters that the Cardinals would like to add an outfielder, ideally one who brings right-handed power (links via John Denton of MLB.com and Daniel Guerrero of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). That’s an indirect consequence of the Contreras trade. Alec Burleson only made 38 starts at first base this past season. That’s likely to rise in 2026, as Bloom implied that Burleson could replace Contreras as the primary first baseman. Burleson made 72 starts in the corner outfield and 18 at designated hitter.

St. Louis has Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker as their projected corner outfield tandem. Nootbaar is down to two years of arbitration control and could be traded this offseason. Walker was a well below replacement level performer in 2025 and still has a minor league option remaining. A righty corner bat could also spell the lefty Burleson.

There aren’t a ton of options remaining in free agency. The Cards could kick the tires on a one-year deal for Miguel Andujar or Austin Hays, each of whom is coming off a big season with the platoon advantage. Old friend Tommy Pham is coming off a middling season against lefties but carries a .261/.368/.434 line in those situations over his career. Chas McCormick hasn’t hit in either of the past two years. He has a 20-homer season with a .273/.353/.489 showing in 2023 on his résumé.

The Cardinals could also look into a switch-hitting utility option like Willi Castro or Luis Rengifo. They’d have the added benefit of being able to fill in at second or third base if the Cardinals line up Donovan and/or Arenado trades. Nolan Gorman would be in line for the bulk of the third base playing time if Arenado is moved. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt should be up as the everyday second baseman at some point, assuming they trade Donovan, but the 23-year-old seems likely to open the season in Triple-A.

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