Biography
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.
Professional career
Minor leagues
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. 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. 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). He finished the season hitting .304 with a .746 OPS and four home runs. On November 20, 2014, Ketel was placed on the 40–man roster.
Seattle Mariners (2015–2016)
The Mariners promoted Marte to the major leagues on July 31, 2015. His performance led the Mariners to be comfortable with trading fellow shortstop Brad Miller. 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.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2017–present)
On November 23, 2016, the Mariners traded Marte and Taijuan Walker to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis. Marte began the 2017 season with the Reno Aces of the PCL. The Diamondbacks promoted him to the major leagues on June 28. 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.
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. 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. He finished the 2022 season with a .240 batting average.
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. 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. Marte finished the series batting .387 and was awarded the 2023 NLCS MVP. Marte extended his streak to 18 games in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series, setting the MLB record. 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.
Batting .292 with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs, Marte was named the starting second baseman for the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. On August 19, 2024, Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain. He returned on September 6. He ended the 2024 season with batting .292 with a career-high 36 HRs and 95 RBI. After the 2024 season, Marte won his first Silver Slugger award of his career.
On April 2, 2025, the Diamondbacks signed Marte to a six-year contract extension worth $116.5 million guaranteed. On April 5, 2025, Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. He returned on May 2.
Personal life
Marte is the nephew of Wilson Valdez, and is married to the cousin of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.