Ketel Ricardo Marte Valdez (born October 12, 1993) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He previously played for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. 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 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and 2024 All-Star Game. In 2023, he won

NLCS MVP The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series that ...

en route to Arizona's first pennant since 2001.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Ketel_Marte%2C_2015_Triple-A_All-Star_Game

Marte signed with the

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 The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

and

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. Marte spent the 2013 season with Clinton and the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

. He batted .295 with a .687

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

(OPS). Marte started 2014 with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Southern League and was promoted to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL). He finished the season hitting .304 with a .746 OPS and four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. 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 Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

. 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 In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

three times. The Mariners attempted to trade Marte in exchange for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

' Zack Cozart during the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2017–present)

On November 23, 2016, the Mariners traded Marte and

Taijuan Walker Taijuan Emmanuel Walker (born August 13, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue ...

to the

in exchange for

Jean Segura Jean Carlos Enrique Segura ( ; born March 17, 1990) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks ...

, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis. Marte began the 2017 season with the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

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 The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. 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 Nicholas Mark Ahmed (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Die ...

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 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 90th Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Cleveland Indians and was played at Progressive Field on July 9, 2019, with the American League prevailing over the Nationa ...

. 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 In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

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 The 2023 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2023 postseason between the defending National League champion and fourth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies and the sixth-seeded Arizona Dia ...

, 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 The 2023 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2023 Major League Baseball season, 2023 season, and the 119th edition of the World Series. It was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American ...

, 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 Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played wit ...

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

, and

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

, who all had 17-game streaks. Marte was the last out of the 2023 World Series, striking out looking against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

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 The 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard, was the 94th All-Star Game of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) on July 16, 2024. The game was ho ...

. On August 19, 2024, Marte was placed on the 10-day

with a left

ankle sprain A sprained ankle (twisted ankle, rolled ankle, turned ankle, etc.) is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most commonly occurring injury in sports, mainly in ball sports (basketball, volleyball, and foot ...

. 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

with a left hamstring strain. He returned on May 2. On June 2 against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, Marte reached third place on the all-time career RBIs list as a D-back with 481. He surpassed

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is one of o ...

’s 479 with his two-run homer in the third inning. Only

Luis Gonzalez Luis Gonzalez or González may refer to: Academics *Luis González y González (1925–2003), Mexican historian *Luis A. Gonzalez (judge) (fl. 1978–2015), American judge Arts and Entertainment * Luis "Checho" González (born 1928), Chilean folkl ...

(774) and

Paul Goldschmidt Paul Edward Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987), nicknamed Goldy, is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. ...

(710) are ahead of Marte on Arizona's all-time list.

Personal life

Marte is the nephew of Wilson Valdez, and is married to the cousin of

Vladimir Guerrero Jr Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a Dominican-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019, and he bats and throws right-handed. Guerrero ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marte, Ketel 1993 births Living people Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Mariners players Clinton LumberKings players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Gigantes del Cibao players High Desert Mavericks players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball second basemen National League All-Stars People from Nizao Reno Aces players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players 2023 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic