All-Star second baseman's no-trade list leaves door open for Blue Jays to make a deal

As we move further away from the Winter Meetings and the buzz of the general managers all being in one place at one time starts to fade, baseball fans are looking everywhere for a modicum of information that may affect their favourite team. So when pieces of information become publicly available, it gets analyzed and over hyped because at the end of the day, it's at least something, for fans to go on.

Such is the case with the recent revealing of All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte's no-trade list, in which Toronto Blue Jays are one of the twenty teams that he would be ok with getting traded to.

All-Star second baseman's no-trade list leaves door open for Blue Jays to make a deal

It's easier to list the teams Marte doesn't want to play for than the ones he does. Five teams will not be getting Marte anytime soon and those teams are the West Sacramento Athletics, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Which means Marte can be traded to Toronto should a deal arise.

Marte and the Blue Jays were previously linked to each other this offseason as Toronto haven't been shy about wanting an upgrade in the middle of their infield. At this point it is a want, more than a need, as they could easily enter next season with an infield combo that has Andrés Giménez, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider filling in at shortstop and second base.

The Blue Jays are also still in the mix in trying to bring back their home grown star, Bo Bichette, who is reportedly open to switching positions. Having played shortstop for his entire professional career since his debut in 2019, Bichette played second during the World Series, coming back from a knee injury he suffered in September during the regular season.

There wouldn't be a need to get both Marte and Bichette and there are benefits to bringing in both. Marte is signed through 2030 and has a player option for 2031. He's been an All-Star and a Silver Slugger winner the last two seasons and seems to be getting better with age. He's hit 25+ home runs the last three seasons with an OPS of .844 or better.

Bichette doesn't have the same kind of power that Marte does, and it seems like his baserunning skills have taken a hit, with his sprint speed dropping over the last couple of seasons. But he also brings an elite contact ability, whether it's being measured by standard numbers, finishing second in hits in MLB in 2025, or by advanced metrics with an xBA in the 99th percentile and a hard hit percentage in the 83rd percentile.

There really isn't a wrong choice here, depending on the cost as either player will take a significant amount of cash or capital to land. For Marte it will take at least one if not more MLB ready players plus a prospect or two to get the deal done, on top of committing to the $102 million remaining on Marte's deal. For Bichette it may "only" cost them money, put it will be a significant amount, possibly pushing north of $200 million.