Rumor Roundup: D-Backs Not Trading Marte, Yankees Make New Offer to Bellinger

With a little over a month to go before spring training begins, the rumor mill is alive and well across MLB despite a lack of noteworthy moves since the calendar has flipped to 2026.

Diamondbacks Not Trading Marte

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte had been one of the bigger names floating around in trade talks this offseason, but it no longer appears that the club is looking to move him.

Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the D-Backs have put their foot down and opted not to trade the three-time All-Star at this point in time. Several teams with the type of young pitching talent Arizona covets, such as the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays, were linked to Marte at points throughout the offseason, but they’ll all now have to shift their attention elsewhere in their efforts to land a middle-of-the-order bat.

Marte slashed .283/.376/.517 with 28 home runs across 556 plate appearances in 2025. He signed a seven-year extension worth $116.5 million with the D-Backs last April, keeping him under contract through at least 2030 while also providing him with an $11.5 million player option for 2031.

The Mets lined up as a potential trade partner with Arizona given their own stash of impressive pitching prospects, but after landing infielders Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco this offseason, Marte was a bit of a tough fit in New York.

Yankees Make Newest Offer to Bellinger

Cody Bellinger is one of the top names still residing on the free agent market, though his demands remain sky-high for the time being.

According to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, the New York Yankees upped their offer to Bellinger in an effort to retain the 30-year-old outfielder, placing a multi-year proposal worth an average annual value (AAV) of over $30 million in front of him.

Bellinger and his camp, however, are seeking a seven-year pact and thus have yet to find common ground with the Yankees or any of the former National League MVP’s other suitors.

He declined a $25 million player option at the beginning of the offseason and has reportedly drawn considerable interest from the Mets, who could use another outfielder after trading Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for Semien. As is the case with Kyle Tucker and some of the club’s reported starting pitching targets, though, they’ll likely avoid a long-term deal with Bellinger and instead try to tempt him with a shorter-term agreement with an inflated AAV, which is in lockstep with the Yankees’ strategy given their latest offer.

As of now, however, it doesn’t seem that Bellinger is willing to settle for a deal in that range.

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