Diamondbacks drama could help Tigers fill Gleyber Torres void via trade in offseason

The Detroit Tigers are in danger of losing Gleyber Torres this offseason, but a Torres replacement might be surprisingly emerging.

The three-time All-Star was ranked No. 21 on MLB insider Jim Bowden’s list of the top 25 upcoming MLB free agents last week.

“Torres has been an important table setter and lineup lengthener for the Tigers this season, reaching base at a .358 clip with 13 home runs,” Bowden wrote on Friday for The Athletic. “He’s struggled of late, posting a .518 OPS over the past 30 games. He remains a well-below-average defensive second baseman in terms of his glove, range (30th percentile in outs above average) and arm strength (10th percentile).”

Torres, 28, signed a one-year, $15 million deal with Detroit in December. Regardless of Torres’ defensive shortcomings noted by Bowden, if Torres does indeed leave the Tigers this winter for a new contract beyond Detroit's budget, the Tigers will be losing an All-Star-level player from their lineup.

It’s a good thing for Detroit, then, that another three-time All-Star second baseman might become available on the trade market this offseason.

Do the Diamondbacks have real clubhouse issues with Ketel Marte?

No one knows for sure what’s going on with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Ketel Marte at the moment. In response to a slew of recent reports indicating that there is discontent in Arizona’s clubhouse surrounding Marte, Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo defended his teammate in a viral interview on Sunday.

While Perdomo’s defense of Marte was noble, the seriousness of his delivery and decision to address the reports only point to the substance of the rumors. Again, while it’s unclear what exactly is happening inside Arizona’s clubhouse concerning Marte, something is going on, and Perdomo’s passionate defense of his teammate only confirmed that.

Tigers Rumors: Could Ketel Marte emerge as offseason trade candidate?

MLB Trade Rumors’ Darragh McDonald dove into the Marte reports last week.

“It appears there’s some behind-the-scenes drama in Arizona,” McDonald wrote. “Per a report from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, some players on the Diamondbacks are frustrated with second baseman Ketel Marte for his tendency to miss games. Most often, that appears to be due to health, though a situation around the All-Star break where Marte was absent from the club was also seemingly a source of discontent.

“Per Piecoro, Marte asked for a day off in the final week of the 2024 season, which 'irked' teammates,” McDonald continued. “This year, he 'raised eyebrows' when he asked to not play the final game before the break, but then participated in the All-Star game itself. Piecoro contrasts this type of behavior with that of Corbin Carroll, who has been playing through a broken bone in his hand because he feels he owes it to the team.”

McDonald noted that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, like Perdomo, has defended Marte in the press while also oddly pleading ignorance to what exactly is transpiring between Marte and his allegedly unhappy teammates. Perdomo’s and Lovullo’s comments didn’t stop McDonald from speculating about a potential Marte trade.

“The question now is what comes next,” McDonald wrote. “That’s a natural speculation when rumors of discord come out of a clubhouse. The baseball world just saw plenty of ink spilled about disagreements between Rafael Devers and the Red Sox. … On the other hand, scuffles like this quickly blow over sometimes. Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil of the Mets got into a fight during a game in 2021 but they put that behind them and have been teammates for many years since then.”

If and when Marte did hit the trade market, plenty of clubs would be calling about the 31-year-old star and 2023 NLCS MVP. Depending on Torres’ free agency, the Tigers could be among the most aggressive teams on the other end of the line.

Arizona’s leadership may very well look to internally investigate and mollify whatever is going on. Marte is locked in with the Diamondbacks until 2031 and represents $102.5 million of Arizona’s post-2025 salary sheet. If the Diamondbacks decided to float him out into the market after the season, it would also likely have something to do with his injury history.

This is something for the Tigers to monitor, but it's also very possible that the reports of friction surrounding Marte are vastly overblown.