Blue Jays reportedly check in on Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte

The Toronto Blue Jays have checked in with the Arizona Diamondbacks about the availability of infielder Ketel Marte, TSN reported Nov. 12, citing The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.

Bannon’s report was published Wednesday. It did not say a trade is close, only that Toronto has made contact as it looks for more offence heading into 2027.

The Blue Jays asked about Marte last off-season too but balked at Arizona’s high asking price, TSN said. General manager Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro have said since the season ended that the team needs more offence and is open to adding it through free agency or a trade.

Marte, 33, has spent 10 seasons with the Diamondbacks. He is a three-time all-star, a two-time Silver Slugger winner and was the most valuable player of the 2023 National League Championship Series. He hit .249 with a .316 on-base percentage and a .432 slugging percentage this season, with 22 home runs and 76 runs batted in.

His 2026 season was uneven. TSN said he did not show up to a game in Boston in August, spent time on the restricted and injured lists, and was booed at Chase Field when he returned.

Arizona may be willing to move him. Arizona Sports reporter John Gambadoro reported last month that the Diamondbacks would listen to offers for Marte for a second straight off-season, TSN said.

Any deal would be complicated by his contract. Marte is owed nearly $90 million over the next five seasons, which ends with a player option in 2031, TSN reported. He also has 10-and-5 rights, which means he can veto any trade.

The need at second base is plain. Atkins praised Ernie Clement at the end of the season but did not fully commit to him as the starting second baseman, TSN said. Clement had a .493 on-base plus slugging percentage over the final 65 games.

Marte is not the only name tied to Toronto. TSN, citing Jon Heyman of the New York Post, said the Blue Jays are one of several teams interested in right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga. The 32-year-old, a nine-year major-league veteran who spent eight seasons with the New York Yankees, had a 2.42 earned-run average and a 1.03 WHIP over 67 innings in 67 appearances this season. He struck out 48 batters.

The Blue Jays were recently named the American League’s team Gold Glove winners for the third time in four years, as Canada News Media reported on Nov. 7. Their defence is not in question. Their lineup is the open issue.

The report is unconfirmed. Neither club has publicly commented on the contact, and a conversation between front offices does not mean a trade will happen.

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Via TSN, which cited The Athletic and the New York Post.