Another ugly, early exit from the postseason has New York Yankees fans asking all-too-familiar questions: What went wrong with this team in 2026, and what needs to change in order to finally get over the hump in 2027?
It's true that playoff baseball can be a crapshoot, one with painfully thin margins — if fly balls from Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe in Games 2 and 3 carry just a bit differently, who knows where we are? But it's also true that, once again, New York's lineup simply wasn't good enough when it mattered this season; that, more than all the errors and all the second-guessed decisions from Aaron Boone, has been the defining failure of this era.
Simply fiddling around the margins this winter feels untenable. The problem is that it's not clear where an upgrade might come from, given that the only impact bat set to hit free agency this winter is ... Jazz Chisholm Jr., the same guy most Yankees fans want run out of town right now. In order to shake things up, Brian Cashman is going to have to get creative, and that points the Yankees to one trade candidate in particular: Ketel Marte.
Ketel Marte trade feels all but certain this winter
Caveats abound here. Marte was reported to have the Yankees on his no-trade list when trade rumors began kicking up last offseason, and now he has a full no-trade clause after completing his 10th season of big-league service time. If New York decides Marte is a target, they'll be fighting an uphill battle.
But it feels like the Marte situation in Arizona has finally reached a point of no return. The Diamondbacks fell short of the postseason yet again while their star second baseman was busy ghosting the team and getting spotted at casinos while on the IL. And it sure seems as though team officials are ready to wash their hands of the whole thing.
“The decisions you make are going to be on you now," manager Torey Lovullo told John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM after the season ended. "I am going to eliminate protecting you the way I have. I can’t do that anymore. At a certain point, I have to allow them (players) to advocate for themselves.”
GM Mike Hazen, for his part, seems to ready to make major changes to his team's core.
“I need to look at this team that’s been together since 2023, and is this the absolute right mix of players that we have on this roster to take that next level and go forward?" Hazen told reporters. "I do believe there’s some level of continuity that is good for us. It’s stabilized where the floor of our team has been, but we haven’t reached any ceiling since three years ago, and that needs to change.”
If the D-backs do want to shake things up, Marte is the obvious place to start. He could decide to shut down any and all potential trade talks, but then again, why wouldn't he be open to a fresh start elsewhere? If the team decides this relationship has run its course, Marte would in all likelihood be willing to go along with it. The Yankees would seem to be a very long shot here; then again, few if any teams would be as motivated to get a deal done — and as willing and able to meet Arizona's need for pitching.
Yankees trade package for Ketel Marte that would satisfy Arizona
It's hard to gauge exactly what Marte's value would be right now. The D-backs hold almost zero leverage here; then again, they could always just decide to try and make it work with their star, who remains a very good player at a premium position on a reasonable contract. Even with all the extenuating factors, it seems hard to believe Arizona wouldn't be able to get something of real value in return.
This package would certainly qualify. Warren has settled in as a perfectly respectable No. 4 starter, with real room for growth beyond that. He's cracked 150 innings in each of the last two seasons, and he's under team control through 2030. Rodriguez has lost some of his prospect shine, but he also has No. 3 or 4 upside and is ready to compete for a big-league rotation spot right away — something the D-backs desperately need considering how barren their pitching depth is right now. Jackson faces real hit tool questions, but he's a solid defender on the left side of the infield who has plenty of tools to work with for an Arizona staff that's had some success in that area recently.
Is it a jaw-dropping return? Of course not. But it still gives you potentially multiple rotation answers for 2027 and beyond, with another interesting flier to hopefully backfill Marte in the infield. Given all they've been through over the last 18-24 months, that's not bad business.
Why the Yankees would make this trade to finally get over the postseason hump
It's probably not a coincidence that the Yankees' lone pennant since 2009 came two years ago, after Brian Cashman went big to land Juan Soto in a trade with the Padres. All due respect to Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and others, this lineup has been crying out for another impact hitter ever since Soto left, and that's even truer after they went totally silent in an ALDS sweep.
Adding to the lineup somehow should be priority No. 1 for Cashman this winter. And really, where else is that addition going to come from? The outfield is basically set with Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Spencer Jones and Heliot Ramos. George Lombard Jr. and (yes, seriously) Anthony Volpe deserve real looks up the middle, especially given the available alternatives. Ben Rice and Luis Garcia Jr. will take the lion's share of at-bats at first base and DH.
There's room for really just one more infielder, and barring a very unlikely Chisholm Jr. reunion, the list of potential options via free agency or trade this winter is pretty short. Someone like Chicago Cubs utility man Matt Shaw probably doesn't move the needle enough (if he's even available). Corey Seager is a comparable player on a much worse contract. Isaac Paredes is a Houston Astro, so that's a non-starter. Brandon Lowe? Matt Chapman? It gets grim pretty fast.
New York has pitching depth to deal from, and Marte is the best combination of talent and need. If it's at all a possibility, Cashman needs to move heaven and Earth. And besides: Say what you want about Aaron Boone, but managing clubhouse culture has never been one of his problems.
Why the Diamondbacks would make this trade
Put simply: Arizona needs pitching, and fast. Their current 2027 rotation projects as Corbin Burnes (assuming he's healthy), Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and then a pair of righties who had ERAs pushing 5 this season in Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson. That's not great for a team with legitimate playoff aspirations.
It just so happens that the Yankees have some pitching to spare. Warren and Rodriguez could slot into the back of Arizona's staff from day one and help raise the floor considerably while also possessing some more untapped upside. That would go a long way to nabbing a Wild Card spot next season, given how many games the D-backs' arms gave away this year.
The Marte situation feels beyond repair, and if that's true, where else are you going to get MLB-ready pithcing in return for him? There aren't a ton of great fits among current contenders and even fewer who have arms to spare (unless the Red Sox and Mariners want to jump in, which they haven't yet). This would be about the happiest ending possible to a situation that everyone's ready to put behind them.
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