Starling Marte has been a hot topic on the trade rumor circuit since the start of the offseason – including in connection to the Chicago Cubs – and today, he’s finally on the move.
Here’s the report:
Outfielder Starling Marte has been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Arizona Diamondbacks, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 27, 2020
It seems the recent movement on the outfield market (Marcell Ozuna to the Braves, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama to the Reds, increased Mookie Betts chatter … Steven Souza Jr. to the Cubs?) has opened things up enough to get a deal done. Indeed, the Diamondbacks were connected to – and missed out on – a whole host of outfielders throughout the offseason, so I’m not particularly surprised to see them pull this off, even though it is a fairly significant deal. Arizona, along with the Mets, were the two teams most often connected to Marte, who’s a free agent at the end of the season.
As for the return, we don’t know the whole picture yet, but Ken Rosenthal has some idea:
Source confirms: #DBacks acquiring Starling Marte from #Pirates. Return is two prospects, names to come. On this: @JonHeyman, @JeffPassan, @ByRobertMurray.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 27, 2020
According to MLB Pipeline, the Diamondbacks have five top-100 prospects (including Nos. 43, 49, 76, 82, and 89), and I wouldn’t be surprised if those are the caliber of players involved in the return.
As for the division, well, this obviously weakens the Pirates which is somewhat good for the Cubs, though it’s not entirely clear where the Cubs will fall on the NL Central power rankings once the season begins (significant trades may yet lie in their future). So far now, the only thing we *know* is that the Pirates have gotten worse for 2020, but probably a little better for 2021 and beyond.
UPDATE: According to Jon Heyman, 2019 first-round pick Brennan Malone is part of the deal. He’s the Diamondbacks 9th best prospect according to Baseball America:
Hearing Brennan Malone is going to Pirates in Marte deal. First round pick last year (33rd overall).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2020
UPDATE II: And the other guy is Liover Peguero, their #7 overall prospect according to Baseball America (in addition to $250K in IFA bonus pool space):
Malone plus Peguero (via @ByRobertMurray ) Plus $250 international money this year go to Purates in marte deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2020