Angels' perfect trade target taken off market as Diamondbacks decide to keep

The Angels have spent the entire offseason doing what they have always done under Perry Minasian - handing out cheap contracts to veteran players who, for one reason or another, are attempting to regain value in the season to come. Minasian has yet to make his signature move as the leader of the Angels’ front office, and the best trade piece on the market is seemingly no longer. 

Any team in baseball could have used Ketel Marte in their lineup. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ infielder is one of the best all-around players in baseball, and has won back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards at second base while also earning two straight All Star Game nods. His double play partner, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, was even better in 2025 though. This caused the Diamondbacks to consider trading away Marte, which would have been a dream option for Angels fans. It also was reported that the Diamondbacks could opt to sign third baseman Alex Bregman and trade Marte to save money and fill out their rotation all at once. However, it appears that is no longer on the table. 

Angels’ dream trade candidate taken off table as Diamondbacks refocus

It was reported on Friday that the Diamondbacks are not going to be trading Ketel Marte this offseason. This makes all too much sense, as he is arguably better than any player available in free agency and the amount of teams who could have offered a trade package worthy of his services while still contending are slim. 

As nice as it would have been for Angels fans to imagine a lineup that started with Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Mike Trout, and Marte, the likelihood of them winning the sweepstakes for the second baseman were slim. Their starting rotation needs help as it is, and the Diamondbacks would have only moved on from Marte in return for elite starting pitching. Conversations between the Angels and Diamondbacks would have had to start with Jose Soriano and Tyler Bremner - and the price would have only gone up from there. 

Nonetheless, the arguement can be made that this is a good outcome for the Angels. If Marte was traded, some of the teams reportedly interested in acquiring his services were the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. All of those are obviously AL teams, with some being clear competition for Wild Card spots. The Angels have an uphill battle to finally make the playoffs this season, and Marte finding himself on one of those clubs would have only made it harder.