Ketel Ricardo Marte Valdez (born October 12, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Seattle Mariners. Marte made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2015, and was traded to the Diamondbacks during the 2016–17 offseason. Marte has been named the starting second baseman for the 2019 and 2024 All-Star Game. In 2023, he won NLCS MVP en route to Arizona's first pennant since 2001.
| Ketel Marte | |
|---|---|
 Marte with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017 | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 4 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: October 12, 1993 Nizao, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 31, 2015, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .280 |
| Hits | 1,137 |
| Home runs | 143 |
| Runs batted in | 515 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Professional career
editMinor leagues
edit
Marte signed with the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent on August 13, 2010. He made his professional debut in 2011 for the Dominican Summer League Mariners.[1] In 2012, he played with the Everett AquaSox of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League and Clinton LumberKings of the Class A Midwest League. Marte spent the 2013 season with Clinton and the High Desert Mavericks of the Class A-Advanced California League.[2] He batted .295 with a .687 on-base plus slugging (OPS). Marte started 2014 with the Jackson Generals of the Class AA Southern League and was promoted to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL).[3] He finished the season hitting .304 with a .746 OPS and four home runs.[4] On November 20, 2014, Ketel was placed on the 40–man roster.[5]
Seattle Mariners (2015–2016)
editThe Mariners promoted Marte to the major leagues on July 31, 2015.[6] His performance led the Mariners to be comfortable with trading fellow shortstop Brad Miller.[7] However, Marte struggled in 2016, batting .259 with a .287 on-base percentage and striking out 84 times in 119 games. He also went on the disabled list three times. The Mariners attempted to trade Marte in exchange for the Cincinnati Reds' Zack Cozart during the season.[8]
Arizona Diamondbacks (2017–present)
editOn November 23, 2016, the Mariners traded Marte and Taijuan Walker to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis.[9] Marte began the 2017 season with the Reno Aces of the PCL. The Diamondbacks promoted him to the major leagues on June 28.[10] In the 2017 National League Wild Card Game, he hit two triples in an 11–8 win over the Colorado Rockies. Marte was moved from shortstop to second base by the Diamondbacks at the beginning of the 2018 season to make room for shortstop Nick Ahmed in the Arizona starting infield. In 2018, Marte led all of MLB in triples with 12.[citation needed]
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Batting .316 with 20 home runs and 51 RBIs, Marte was named the starting second baseman for the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[11] The following season, Marte hit .287 with 2 home runs and 17 RBI. On April 8, 2021, Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. He returned on May 19.
On March 29, 2022, Marte signed a five-year, $76 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks.[12] He finished the 2022 season with a .240 batting average.[13]
In Game 3 of the 2023 National League Championship Series, Marte hit a walk-off single for his third hit of the night as the Diamondbacks won 2–1.[14] In Game 7, Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to 16 games, the longest hitting streak by any player to start his postseason career in MLB history.[15] Marte finished the series batting .387 and was awarded the 2023 NLCS MVP.[16] Marte extended his streak to 18 games in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series, setting the MLB record.[17] Marte ended his streak in Game 5 of the series, the longest hit streak in postseason history at 20 games, passing Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Hank Bauer, who all had 17-game streaks. Marte was the last out of the 2023 World Series, striking out looking against Rangers reliever Josh Sborz to clinch the series for the Rangers.
Personal life
editMarte is the nephew of Wilson Valdez, and is married to the cousin of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.[18]
References
edit- ^ Pleskoff, Bernie (July 7, 2014). "Mariners prospect Marte flashing leather in Minors". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ "Marte moves up, Peterson cleans up on league honors". The Clinton Herald. August 13, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ Curto, Mike (August 9, 2014). "Mariners shortstop prospect Ketel Marte putting together nice season". News Tribune. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ Dutton, Bob (October 13, 2014). "Mariners notebook: D.J. Peterson, Ketel Marte cited among top Southern League prospects". News Tribune. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ "Seattle claims Olmos off waivers from Miami". ESPN.com. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ Sports, Fox. "Report: Mariners expected to call up Marte, Montero". Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ "Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto: Trade is a start to a 'more usable roster'". November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ "Finding an upgrade at shortstop won't be simple for the Mariners". November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ Perry, Dayn (November 23, 2016). "Mariners, D-Backs swap Taijuan Walker, Segura as part of 5-player trade: Arizona gets help in the rotation while Seattle lands an impact infielder". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ^ McManaman, Bob (June 29, 2017). "SS Ketel Marte next man up as Diamondbacks look to keep winning despite injuries". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte voted 2019 MLB All-Star Game starter". June 27, 2019.
- ^ Gilbert, Steve (March 29, 2022). "Ketel Marte, D-backs finalize 5-year extension". MLB.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- ^ Piecoro, Nick (October 4, 2022). "GM Hazen: D-Backs will be looking for more from Ketel Marte in 2023". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ Axsia, Mike (October 20, 2023). "Diamondbacks vs. Phillies score, highlights: Ketel Marte's walk-off single gives Arizona life in NLCS". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ Casella, Paul. "Marte keeps hit streak going, named NLCS MVP". mlb.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Perry, Dayn (October 25, 2023). "Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte named NLCS MVP after setting MLB record to begin postseason career". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Estrada, Lorenzino (October 29, 2023). "DBacks' Ketel Marte makes MLB postseason history". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ Buchanan, Zach (April 25, 2019). "Ketel Marte excited to play his cousin-in-law -- the once..." The Athletic. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
External links
edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Ketel Marte on Instagram