Marte, D-backs in talks on extension (source)
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PHOENIX -- The D-backs are talking with second baseman Ketel Marte about a contract extension, a source told MLB.com. The club has not commented on the talks.
Marte is under contract for this season at $8.4 million, with the D-backs having team options for 2023 ($11 million) and 2024 ($13 million) under the terms of an extension he signed in March 2018.
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Per MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, the negotiations are centered around guaranteeing the two team options and then adding another three years to Marte's deal for a total of around $75 million. The discussions were first reported by FanSided's Robert Murray.
Marte, 28, finished fourth in the National League Most Valuable Player award voting in 2019, when he hit 32 homers and had a slash line of .329/.389/.592 while almost singlehandedly carrying the D-backs’ offense as the club made a late-season push for a Wild Card spot.
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Issues with his hamstrings limited Marte to 90 games last year, but he was productive when he was on the field. Marte slashed .318/.377/.532 and had an OPS+ of 143.
The D-backs have shifted Marte back and forth from second base to center field over the past few seasons, but his struggles defensively in center last year combined with the hamstring injuries prompted them to move him to exclusively second base late in the 2021 season.
This spring, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said Marte would play second base only, with the possibility that he could play shortstop on days that Nick Ahmed needs a day off.