Diamondbacks have new plans for trading Ketel Marte

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Diamondbacks have new plans for trading Ketel Marte originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been shopping second baseman Ketel Marte essentially since the offseason began.

A trade hasn't been forthcoming, though.

It's the kind of inactivity that could lead to a shift of gears for the Diamondbacks. Marte is still a great player. They just felt his contract might be worth moving on from.

If no one else makes a suitable offer, though, Arizona might just have to stand pat.

"As Diamondbacks exec Mike Hazen said the other day, he's not going to wait much longer for a team to step up and make a suitable offer for All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte -- the D-Backs, like every other team, have to start preparing for the start of spring training," ESPN's Buster Olney wrote on Tuesday.

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There's still time to get a deal done, but the clock is ticking.

"Hazen's words have been read in the industry as a call for a last round of offers, and if the Diamondbacks don't see a proposal they like -- after two months of conversations, they'll be surprised if someone makes a push -- they intend to pull Marte off the trade market," Olney writes.

If Arizona heads into the season with a core of its lineup centered around Marte and Corbin Carroll, that's not a bad start.

The Diamondbacks have enough talent to be competitive. They were looking a bit toward the future with the concept of dealing Marte.

But if he stays in town, Arizona can make that work, too. It'll just be a nudge toward trying to be competitive this season.

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