With Josh Naylor re-signed, the next major bit of business the Seattle Mariners need to take care of concerns another big hole in their starting lineup. To this end, re-signing Jorge Polanco as a free agent seems to be Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.
And yet, a possible reunion with Ketel Marte continues to linger in the background. And now it’s that much more in focus after MLB Network stoked the flames of the Arizona Diamondbacks actually moving the three-time All-Star. Jon Morosi reported on Tuesday that the Snakes are “actively listening” to trade offers, while Harold Reynolds name-checked the Mariners as a prospective fit.
The timing of all this is a bit odd, as it was only the week before that Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto all but singled out Polanco as the club’s next priority after Naylor. But if it’s a question of whether a Marte trade should be on the table, the answer obviously isn’t no.
A Mariners reunion with Ketel Marte could be possible after insider’s report
In fact, we can make this simple: As good as Polanco was in 2025, Marte was even better and indeed has a more proven track record as a star.
Polanco had his best season in years by way of a 134 OPS+, 30 doubles and 26 home runs, yet Marte did him better in all three categories plus a whole host of others, including AVG, OBP, SLG and WAR. Expand the window to cover the last three seasons since 2023, and it’s a clean sweep for Marte.
The real question is whether re-signing Polanco makes more sense for the Mariners than trading for Marte. It at least figures to be easier. Polanco is more determined to play the market than Naylor was, yet he’s likely only in line for a short-term deal with a modest eight-figure salary — for example, MLB Trade Rumors projects three years and $42 million.
Yet with Morosi reporting that Arizona is listening, that removes at least one hypothetical barrier between the Mariners and a reunion with Marte, who signed with Seattle out of the Dominican Republic back in 2010. And if any team is going to trade for him, well, why not the Mariners?
Dipoto and Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen have made nine trades since 2016, and the latter has every reason to do more business with Seattle. The Mariners have as much prospect depth as any team in MLB, and it includes arms that are desperately needed in the desert.
Marte is still owed $91 million through 2030, but that isn’t so much a catch as an observation. He would get potentially twice as much money if he was a free agent this winter, and Naylor’s five-year, $92.5 million contract is structured in a way that allows the Mariners to maximize their budget for new salaries for 2026.
If the Mariners re-sign Polanco, they’ll be running it back with mostly the same lineup that was good enough to get the team closer to the World Series than it had ever been. If they trade for Marte, they’ll upgrade with a third superstar to pair with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez.
Even if one is less likely than the other, each is appealing enough for the Mariners to seriously consider going in either direction.
