Starling Marte looks to be on his way to Arizona, not to New York City.
There were reports early in the offseason that the Mets had been interested in trading for the Pirates outfielder. That never materialized into anything close to a deal, but Marte was clearly on the trading block as the Pirates look to a possible rebuild.
Now, according to WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman, the Diamondbacks have a deal in place to acquire Marte.
Marte will bolster Torey Lovullo's outfield, as Arizona tries to make its way back into October baseball after narrowly missing out on the playoffs this season.
According to The Athletic's Robert Murray, the Diamondbacks are giving up Liover Peguero and Brennan Malone in the trade. Both players are highly regarded prospects in Arizona's minor league system.
Marte has spent his entire eight-year career in Pittsburgh. He made an All-Star team in 2016, and in 2019 he .295 with 23 home runs and 82 RBIs. At 31-years-old, he probably has a couple more years left playing at a top level.
Unless they bring someone else in, the Mets will continue with an outfield group that still has a few question marks, including over how much Yoenis Cespedes will be able to contribute this season. At the moment, Brandon Nimmo and Jake Marisnick are looking the most likely to be the team's opening day options in center field.
The Mets might be seeing quite a bit of Marte in 2020. Neither team made the playoffs, but Arizona finished right behind New York in the race for the wild-card spots.
