If you read our article stating the Reds had some interest in Ketel Marte you can read here, we mentioned that Ketel Marte had a no trade clause in his current contract blocking 5 very specific teams. It was rumored it was 2 NL Central teams, so we weren’t real sure if they (Reds) would even be able to land him in the get go. Now we know. Subscribe to our Newsletter by using the popup or the form below!
Ketel Marte Has 2 NL Central Teams Blocked
The two NL Central teams that Ketel has blocked, believe it or not, do not include Cincinnati. It actually features one surprising team, and one less surprising team, and a few others, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the surprising team on this list. It’s unclear why he (Ketel Marte) would have blocked an organization like the Cards. When he broke the big leagues and signed his deal, the Cardinals were quite prominent in competitive nature. It’s definitely a puzzling one there. The Cardinals have arguably one of the best Dominican players, if not THE best, as a posterboy, Albert Pujols. I’m shocked he has them on his list. I guess bro hates Cardinals.
The least surprising team on here is the Pittsburgh Pirates. When Ketel signed, the Pirates were and have been dreadful. That is a very un-surprising one to me, at least. The Pirates haven’t really had any successes with a Dominican player, either, so it makes it even more unsurprising.
What Other Teams Did Ketel Marte Block?
In the Rosenthal article, Ketel Marte’s contract has not only the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals from the NL Central blocked, but it also has the Las Vegas Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and the New York Yankees. The Yankees are a bit of a surprise, once again, because that organization has produced quite a bit of Dominican talent. I could see them waiving his no trade clause there, but not for any of these other teams.
Do The Reds Have A Chance?
That answer is absolutely, they do have a chance to land Ketel Marte. I’d put the likelihood at 5%. Come on guys, you’re a Cincinnati Reds fan. They don’t have the money to pay for Ketel Marte. Keep playing MLB The Show – it’s the only place you’ll see a winner if you’re a Reds fan. There you can actually expect them to pay for players, you can actually trade players without getting waxed like Nick Krall does…until next time, much love!
In all seriousness, if the Reds ownership group can actually pony up and invest in the team, of course there’s a chance that they can land him. He’d slot perfectly in the lineup, and he is due to have some positive reception under Terry Francona. It really is a pipedream, though, the Reds would have to pony up big time and there is not a big chance that the Diamondbacks send any money back, if at all, they’d be expecting his taking team to absorb all the cost.
