Can the Brewers Make a Statement with a Ketel Marte Trade at MLB Winter Meetings?

[Jake McKibbin]

Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Ketel Marte has been the best second baseman in baseball over the last two seasons, producing 6.8 bWAR in 2024 and 4.4 bWAR (in a reduced workload) in 2025. He slugged 28 home runs in just 480 at-bats, and overall, he was one of the most potent bats in baseball. He was a slightly above-average defender at the keystone, to boot, further enhancing his value to a team set up like the Brewers are. With trade season upon us (and rumors of Marte's unhappiness within the Diamondbacks), could the Brewers pounce on a potentially era-defining move?

Can it Fit Defensively?
Any acquisition of Marte would mean Brice Turang sliding over to shortstop, putting some dent in the premium infield defense of 2025. Turang has proved to be an excellent second baseman, but some arm strength concerns and slightly unexpected range-based metrics at second base in 2025 hint that he may not be the above-average shortstop some hoped he could be.

Combine that with some concerns about whether Turang's shoulder can handle the longer throws over 162 games, and perhaps this defensive alignment isn't as viable in practice as it is on paper. This is something the front office would need to have some certainty about, before executing a trade of this magnitude.

How Valuable Is Ketel Marte?
Marte is 32 years old, probably entering the last of his prime seasons. However, his all-around skill set in the batter's box is something to behold. Marte shows great plate discipline, rarely chasing outside the strike zone. He shows strong bat-to-ball skills that give him both strikeout and walk rates far better than the league averages. He also generates ample hard contact. While he crushes fastballs, he has an expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) over .360 in each of the last two seasons against breaking pitches.

His contract carries him through his age-37 season and is heavily backloaded, with five years and $96 million guaranteed and a player option for $11.5 million in 2031. That already reflects some escalation from when he signed the deal less than a year ago, because he eclipsed 550 plate appearances in 2025. That boosts his salary in each remaining year of the deal by $1 million, and he can increase his salaries for following years by up to $2.5 million each year if he stays healthy and plays every day. Thus, there's a good chance this balloons into a nine-figure commitment. However, there are also substantial deferrals in the deal, which brings the real cost back down even as the nominal payouts threaten to rise significantly. All told, it's a very team-friendly deal for a player of Marte's caliber.

The only other discussion point around this is that Marte has incurred the ire of his teammates with repeated requests for days off. Ken Rosenthal reported on that in the wake of Marte being away from the team without permission for two days coming out of the All-Star break.

Quote

“The worst-kept secret in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization is out: They will listen to offers on All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte this winter, knowing that while Marte is extremely talented, he can be a diva in the clubhouse, agitating his teammates and coaching staff … The D-backs won’t trade their three-time All-Star and NLCS MVP who has [$107.5 million] left on his contract after this season without getting fair value in return, but they’re also aware that he’ll become a 10-and-5 player early next season that gives him full no-trade rights. Certainly, the phone lines will be open.”

The Brewers are constructed to outwork their opponents, grinding harder day to day and fighting for every inch available. How Marte fits into that is anybody's guess, and the front office would surely need to do enough background research to know whether he would disrupt things before pulling the trigger on a deal.

What Would a Trade Package Look Like?
With Marte locked up for at least five more years and Turang under team control for another three, it opens some possibilities in the short term for the Brewers. They may be able to sell high on Cooper Pratt—whose bat has struggled to create impact in the minor leagues—and wait on the arrival of Jesús Made. They have a plethora of strong prospects, all of whom (except Made) could be used to chase Marte.

A package could look somewhere along the lines of this:

• Luis Peña (#2 Brewer Fanatic prospect)
• Robert Gasser (#7 Brewer Fanatic prospect)
• Brock Wilken (#11 Brewer Fanatic prospect)

The Brewers would be trading away a strong defensive shortstop with power that many scouts consider untapped, in Luis Peña, one of the hottest prospects in baseball; Robert Gasser, a left handed arm who showed well during a small sample so far in the major leagues; and Brock Wilken, an upside third baseman with thump who could profile similarly to Eugenio Suárez at his peak upside.

It's an enticing deal for both parties, costing a lot of capital for the Brewers, but with monumental improvements to their offensive production in the short and medium term. It would give their lineup a dynamic a bit closer to those of the other elite teams in the National League, and the players they might trade to make it happen (while very valuable) could be drawn from places where the team enjoys a surplus.

---

Would you take this deal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

View full article

[wntrtxn21]

If the rumors can be believed and Milwaukee is trying to restrict payroll, I can't see any way the even think about Marte. $107M is a ton of money for a guy on the wrong side of 30 with some questionable character problems. 

[wallus]

Marte is a good target but I am not trading Pena for him. The age and potential character problems are the only reason he may be available in the first place.

Going off of the trade package mentioned above, put in Pratt as the headliner and I would think about it.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 minutes ago, wallus said:

Marte is a good target but I am not trading Pena for him. The age and potential character problems are the only reason he may be available in the first place.

Going off of the trade package mentioned above, put in Pratt as the headliner and I would think about it.

Yeah. And underline 'THINK'. Definitely not Pena.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Pratt Dinges and Gasser? 

[eddiemathews]

2 hours ago, wntrtxn21 said:

If the rumors can be believed and Milwaukee is trying to restrict payroll, I can't see any way the even think about Marte. $107M is a ton of money for a guy on the wrong side of 30 with some questionable character problems. 

That was a click bait article by Rosenthal who has since walked it back.

[Jake McKibbin]

1 hour ago, eddiemathews said:

That was a click bait article by Rosenthal who has since walked it back.

Thanks Eddie! Yeah COTs has the Brewers at 113.1m, and when you factor in the accounting for buyouts, they're still below last years $131.6m closing position so that doesn't worry me.

The attitude problems are fascinating as Pat Murphy will either cure him or destroy him with the tough love approach. It's been a fascinating watch

[GasserFace]

I wish there were not concerns about the locker room vibes.  If there were no concerns, I think this trade is a no brainer from the Brewers side.  The Snakes would probably want more in that scenario, because they should get arms back late in 2026 and for sure in 2027.

With those concerns, I still think this trade could work for both sides.  Marte would absolutely alter the Brewers offensive ceiling.  I am not concerned about the payroll in 2029 / 2030.  Yelich will have moved on.  Made and others will have arrived on pre-arb / arb deals.  I'm also not concerned about the defense.  Marte holds his own and Turang will be OK at SS.  Marte would likely be the DH in 2029 and 2030.

This is the only logical trade target that moves the needle for this team.  I'm fine if they don't make this deal, but would be ecstatic if they do.  Pena would be tough to give up, but there are more holes in his game than in Made's.  I'm confident that we can backfill Pena's spot on the prospect list.

[rafa79]

Let's see ....hi Ketel Marte!  Ok, yeah, now say goodbye to ANY chance of signing Miz long term.

Geez, the Hot Stove is fun to play "armchair GM" but Marte, when we have the guys that we do in the minors?  Seriously, no way in a million years!

Make a trade to get a decent outfielder with some pop in his bat to play left.  Maybe a veteran infielder for more depth and that's it.

Of course, do NOT trade Peralta, seriously, again. Ok, a Godfather deal like when we got Contreras, Peguero and Yeager for Estury Ruiz but that's the ONLY way.

[OneangryBadger]

3 hours ago, KCBrewerfan34 said:

Pratt Dinges and Gasser? 

I would not put Dinges in this trade because imo he has a higher upside than Wilken and could fill a need for the Brewers in a few years. He can play C, corner OF and 1B all positions of need in a few years. 

[Underachiever]

I know Turang had a sore shoulder in spring training last year. Is that the genesis of all the talk about his arm not being suited for SS? That his arm isn’t strong enough? Please let me know if I’m missing something else.

[jay87shot]

I agree that Marte's contract is a bit to big, the bat however would be perfect. Also I do think that he would be tradable in 2 years when Pena is ready. That would sidestep the later years and more expensive end of the deal. Arizona would likely want more pitching and we would try and get rid of some salary.

We get Marte, Will Watson, and Jonathan Santucci. Mets gets Freddy and the Dbacks get Jonah Tong and Aaron Ashby.

We drop 13-14 million to fit Marte in. The Mets get a top of the rotation arm they can resign and the Dbacks get two high potential starters. Think of it as Freddy and a portion of Ashby for Marte and a bigger portion of Ashby for the 2 pitching prospects. We still would have pretty good pitching depth especially if one of the 2 arms we get could go to AAA right away. If need be we could even send someone like Mears or Perkins out to even things out a bit more.