Diamondbacks GM confirms Mariners missed their shot on Ketel Marte

As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once said: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." This seems like an appropriate quote to reference, in light of the Mariners still not having brought in a much-needed quality bat to strengthen the lineup.

Sure, the Mariners signed Josh Naylor to a long-term contract early on in the offseason, but this was the bare minimum they needed to do in order to build on the momentum of last year. Jerry Dipoto and company still need another big move to prove to the fanbase that they are fully committed to finally getting that first ever World Series berth.

At this juncture, Brendan Donovan seems to be the main hope, but there's no guarantee the M's will get the 2025 All-Star. In fact, if they do miss out on the St. Louis Cardinals utility player, the organization may well regret having not seriously pursued another potential target, in Ketel Marte.

SoDo Mojo's Jason Wang covered this just a few days ago, naming Marte as one of the three worst missed opportunities by the Mariners so far this offseason. Wang noted that as admirable as it was for the organization to be so protective of their young pitching talent, they had enough quality depth to facilitate a reunion with one of the best second basemen in baseball.

Ketel Marte seemingly a dream match for the Mariners

As we previously wrote, Marte has averaged a 141 OPS+, 30 home runs and a 5.3 rWAR over the past three seasons, twice been named a Silver Slugger and also finished third in AL MVP voting in 2024. On top of this, his contract has him making $91 million over these next five seasons, which constitutes a financial bargain in this day and age.

In any event, none of this matters now in light of comments made by Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen that he would no longer consider trading Marte. As per MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, Hazen reiterated this when asked about receiving a potential deal he can't refuse:

"Look, we’ve already engaged in that process. I said at the time that I set the deadline for a reason, to avoid this."

Mike Hazen

Hazen has already advised Marte he isn't going anywhere and that the two will sit down for a proper conversation ahead of spring training. As per Gilbert, the Diamondbacks GM is also quite rightly saying his word has to count for something, and if he goes back on it now it might impact future dealings with other teams.

There's a feeling that Hazen's comments are meant more for the Boston Red Sox. With Alex Bregman deciding to sign a lucrative deal with the Chicago Cubs rather than return to Beantown, the Red Sox would have potentially pivoted towards Marte to save their offseason.

Still, you can't help feeling the Mariners missed a golden opportunity with Marte, a player they have a history with. This is only reinforced when Hazen admits it never even got that close with a potential deal that would have persuaded them to trade the three-time All-Star.

This really is damning when you use baseball vernacular for Gretzky's quote, in that the Mariners didn't even seemingly take a genuine swing at Marte. Surely it's better to strike out trying your best to land contact with a quality player, as opposed to just meekly standing there and watching the ball fly into the catcher's mitt.