The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly available in the market for a center infield improve this offseason, and a brand new commerce pitch aimed on the Jays and the Arizona Diamondbacks would ship simply that, however on the value of a Toronto fan favourite.
Arizona’s Ketel Marte would transfer to Toronto for Ernie Clement and a teenage pitching prospect, in keeping with the commerce pitch revealed Thursday by Baseball Commerce Values, which grades the deal as an excellent swap for the Blue Jays and Arizona.
Arizona needs pitching and payroll reduction, in keeping with The Arizona Republic, and this bundle provides neither in quantity, which leaves the query hanging — would the Diamondbacks settle for an excellent deal on paper?
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Toronto Blue Jays’ Ketel Marte Commerce Worth
The Baseball Commerce Values calculator values Marte at 2.0, constructed on a 76.8 asset worth towards 74.8 in wage. Clement checks in at 1.8. Miguel Pantoja, an 18-year-old right-hander Toronto signed in February 2025, provides the final 0.2.
Pantoja went 3-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 47.1 innings between the Florida Advanced League and Class A Dunedin this season, in keeping with MiLB.com‘s Pantoja web page.
Marte, 33, hit .249/.316/.432 with 22 house runs and 76 RBIs in 141 video games. The standard of his contact informed a greater story. His .349 anticipated weighted on-base common landed within the eighty fifth percentile, per Baseball Savant information, and he struck out simply 13.8% of the time. Marte additionally graded as a strong defender at second base, with constructive outs above common.
Marte carries a profession .277/.347/.468 line with 193 house runs, two Silver Slugger awards and the 2023 Nationwide League Championship Collection MVP trophy.
Marte signed a six-year, $116.5 million extension in April 2025, in keeping with The Related Press. Roughly $87.5 million stays over 5 seasons, and his 10-and-5 rights let him veto any commerce, in keeping with MLB Commerce Rumors.
The deal contains deferrals, escalators and an $11.5 million participant choice for 2031. His wage begins round $12 million to $13.75 million in 2027, then climbs to $20 million, $22 million and $22 million within the seasons that observe. Toronto has absorbed costly, declining belongings earlier than, together with Andrés Giménez and Shane Bieber, in keeping with The Athletic.
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Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte Commerce Motivation
Arizona is attempting to chop payroll and has steered commerce talks towards pitching, in keeping with The Arizona Republic. Marte’s repeated absences complicate the image. His August no-show for a sport in Boston led to the restricted checklist after which the injured checklist with a knee problem, and the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs by a slender margin.
Toronto fielded baseball’s worst offense this season, scoring simply 648 runs, and the center infield was a number one trigger, in keeping with The Athletic. The identical evaluation factors to a household tie as a motive Marte would waive his veto. He’s married to a cousin of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and performed alongside the Blue Jays slugger for the Dominican Republic on the World Baseball Traditional.
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Toronto Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement Issue
Clement batted .259/.285/.364 with 9 house runs and 48 RBIs in 158 video games. His OPS+ of 78 sits properly under Marte’s 107. Clement additionally completed with detrimental defensive metrics at second base after a powerful first half pale. He earned about $4.6 million this season and stays beneath membership management via arbitration at reasonable price.
The numbers understate his place in Toronto. Clement began at second base for the American League on the All-Star Recreation and set a postseason file with 30 hits in 2025, in keeping with MLB.com.
The calculator says even. Final offseason, Toronto balked when Arizona requested for controllable beginning pitching, in keeping with The Athletic, and this bundle accommodates no controllable starter.
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