Marcus Semien won’t stop NY Mets from a Ketel Marte trade, these other players might

It definitely doesn’t look like the Arizona Diamondbacks are all that interested in keeping Ketel Marte around. A distraction more than a superstar these days, New York Mets fans have naturally flocked to the idea of trading for him this winter.

D’Backs manager Torey Lovullo called Marte recently in what feels like an ominous call to the second baseman to get his act together behind the ears more so than at the plate.

Once again a hot trade candidate, Marte isn’t coming off of a spectacular year. A .748 OPS and 22 home runs were new lows for the last four seasons. In the same category as a player like Rafael Devers, another could-be-on-the-move player some Mets fans would like to see parked at first base, we should fully expect some sense of Marte trade rumors. Last offseason, even after acquiring Marcus Semien, the Mets had rumored interest in Marte.

Could they again? It feels a bit more doubtful and it’s not because of Semien. It’s a group of more youthful pieces who would prevent the Mets from adding Marte to the mix at the risk of adding a new distraction just as Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor seem to be getting along so well.

Three players currently with the organization can nix a Marte trade before it even happens. Their existence, promising or less so, will have the Mets either playing the waiting game at second base or provide them with the excuse to look elsewhere.

Ranking the players who will have the Mets hesitant to trade for Ketel Marte

3) Brett Baty

It’s not that Brett Baty is a better player than Marte, but as a left-handed hitter who could potentially platoon with Semien regularly, we can see a path of the Mets navigating their way at second base based on splits over getting 162 games out of someone. Baty had an encouraging finish to the season and with no open space on the field otherwise at the moment, the simple Baty-Semien duo at second base seems to be the easiest and logical way to handle the position because of all of the kids who could snag the job soon after. Baty is an already existing placeholder entering only his first year of arbitration.

2) Jefferson Rojas

Jefferson Rojas’ immediate future is going to depend a lot on what happens with Bo Bichette. If Bo goes, Rojas shouldn’t touch a position other than third base. If he stays, the Mets might want to add some second base reps for him. There should be little doubt we see Rojas in the big leagues next year barring a full cancellation of the year. He was impressive in the minors and with the team showing its faith in a guy like Carson Benge to skip the trials of Triple-A, knowing Rojas is waiting may be enough for the Mets to allocate resources elsewhere rather than trading for Marte.

1) Mitch Voit

Drafted as a second baseman, Mitch Voit spent a large chunk of the 2026 season playing shortstop. It’s not to replace Francisco Lindor (at least not immediately). One could make the case there was a lot of logic behind it from challenging the team’s 2025 first-round draft pick to further evaluating where he fits in to even building up some trade value. After such an awesome 2026 season highlighted by a .947 OPS in his final month spent in Double-A, Voit looks every bit on target to take some starting job for the Mets. His progress aligns best with maybe being the best choice in 2028. He’s the least immediate second base solution and yet probably the most realistic one. Fellow Mets prospect Emilien Pitre deserves a nod as well, but as a light-hitting infielder with a slick glove, we should probably set expectations for him to be more of a role player than a starter.

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