Why the A’s Landed on a Star Player’s No-Trade List—and What It Says About the Franchise .MH
Landing Marte was always a long shot for the A’s
The Athletics could use an upgrade at second base this winter, with Zack Gelof’s injury timeline up in the air. They have some incumbent options like Darell Hernaiz and Max Muncy, and each is also in the mix as an option at third base as well. As of right now, the best way for the A’s to upgrade their second base options would be to hit the trade market.
That said, there is one key target that isn’t likely to head to West Sacramento, and that’s Arizona Diamondbacks’ second baseman Ketel Marte.
It was revealed on Monday that Marte has a no-trade list of five teams, and unsurpisingly, the A’s are on that list.
Ken Rosenthal reports: “Marte has a five-team no-trade list – the Athletics, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Giants and Cardinals, according to people briefed on his contract. He will gain full no-trade protection as a player with 10 years of major-league service, five consecutive with the same team, on the 10th day of the 2026 season.”
While the A’s are on the no-trade list, that doesn’t mean that a trade is necessarily impossible. Earlier this winter, Sonny Gray waived his no-trade clause to go from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox. The big difference between the two would be that Gray’s was a blanket no-trade clause, while Marte’s is more specific, meaning there could be a reason the A’s are on there.
In the event that Marte were to waive that no-trade clause, the Diamondbacks are after young pitching according to Rosenthal, and while the A’s would certainly have the arms to get a deal done, it’s difficult to see them moving the pitching necessary.
The A’s 40-man roster is a bit heavy on starting pitcher options, and there are a few of those arms that don’t have a clear path to the big leagues to the A’s 26-man roster with the emergence of their top prospects like Gage Jump and Braden Nett.
On the A’s projected roster at FanGraphs, the bullpen already has former starter Hogan Harris, along with potential starters Mitch Spence and Brady Basso. That’s on top of the five members of the rotation. Beyond them, the A’s also have Gunnar Hoglund, JT. Ginn, Mason Barnett, Nett, Henry Baez, Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, Jack Perkins, Joey Estes and Ken Waldichuk.
They also have Luis Medina as a starter, though we believe he’ll end up in the bullpen coming off Tommy John surgery that kept him out for the 2025 season, while also being out of options.
That is nine starting pitchers that are seen as depth options by the club at the moment. Some of them, like Zhong-Ao Zhuang, Nett, Bae and Baez have yet to make their big-league debuts and are ascending towards that goal. There’s also a decent mix of players that have had a shot and are now kind of in limbo, either because of injury or underperformance.
The point being, that the A’s have some intriguing arms that could be available, but those names are unlikely to include their top arms. That’s probably not the type of return Arizona is after, so even if Marte waived his no-trade clause, it’s a little tough to see a deal coming to fruition.
