Mariners get promising update on Ketel Marte's market after Jorge Polanco stunner

With Jorge Polanco no longer an option at second base, the Seattle Mariners might have to make Ketel Marte their top choice to join J.P. Crawford in the middle of the infield in Seattle.

There's good news on the Marte trade front, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic revealed a list of five teams the three-time All-Star can block trades to. The Mariners are not on the list, which consists of the Athletics, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, and Yankees.

Mariners get promising update on Ketel Marte's market after Jorge Polanco stunner

Of course, the Athletics, Pirates, and Cardinals were probably never going to be interested in Marte in the first place. None of those teams is expected to contend in 2026, and none of them tends to make big trades for veteran infielders. In fact, the Cardinals are actively shopping their own second baseman, Brendan Donovan.

The Yankees also don't need a second baseman, as they already have Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Giants, however, do need a second baseman and have been reportedly in the market for both Marte and Donovan.

There's more good news as well. According to Rosenthal, the D-Backs are still open to moving Marte despite recently re-signing Merrill Kelly.

"The Diamondbacks want young major-league-ready players for Marte, but also would consider prospects they could spin to a third club for the right talent," writes Rosenthal. "Lining up a two-team trade, though, will be difficult enough. Involving a third club might complicate the process excessively."

The Mariners do have plenty of young, major-league-ready players. If Arizona wants bats, Seattle could offer Cole Young or Ben Williamson. They could also offer Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss, both of whom were once in Arizona's system. Seattle's prospect corps of Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, and Ryan Sloan would be difficult to part with, but it might take trading one of them to get the job done.

If Arizona wants pitching, Seattle could offer Logan Evans or Emerson Hancock, although it's possible Arizona would ask for someone with more track record, such as Bryce Miller, George Kirby or even Bryan Woo.

However, now that Arizona has re-signed Kelly, they might not be as desperate for starting pitchers, which bodes well for Seattle.

It would be expensive, but a potential Marte trade looks like it could be the perfect move for the Mariners to make this offseason.