It’s the end of the Starling Marte era in Pittsburgh.
Marte, who has spent his entire eight-year career in the Steel City, will be packing his bags and heading West as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms to make this trade happen.
Marte to Diamondbacks
It has been a busy three days in MLB. Justin Verlander’s comments Saturday night about the Astros cheating scandal rattled CC Sabathia and Yankees fans everywhere. On Monday, free-agent Nick Castellanos signed a $64 million deal to play with the Reds.
Now Starling Marte is front and center in the news as the Pittsburgh Pirates announced they traded the two-time gold glove winner to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The news isn’t sitting well for many Bucs fans that long-time fan-favorite Starling Marte has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for two prospects. Ken Rosenthal confirmed that the deal has officially taken place, and Marte will be in a D-Backs uniform this summer.
The 31-year-old Marte has only worn the Pittsburgh Black, White, and Gold his entire career and will not only be missed for his on-field ability but his off the field presence as well.
Source confirms: #DBacks acquiring Starling Marte from #Pirates. Return is two prospects, names to come. On this: @JonHeyman, @JeffPassan, @ByRobertMurray.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 27, 2020
Marte has hit 108 home runs, driven in 420 RBI and collected 239 stolen bases so far in his career. He also has a .287 lifetime average.
Last season was Marte’s best statistically as he put up career-high numbers with the Pirates. Marte smashed 23 homers and drove in 82 runs. He finished the 2019 campaign with a .295 average along with a .503 slugging percentage.
The Diamondbacks landed the outfielder they were looking for.
For Arizona to make some noise in the National League, they will need Marte to perform at that same level.
Prospects Liover Peguero, Brennan Malone bring hope for future
When your team trades a bonified star for prospects, it can be a bit frustrating not just for the players but for the fans as well.
In return for Marte, the Pirates will receive right-handed pitcher Brennan Malone, the 33rd pick in the 2019 draft, and shortstop Liover Peguero.
Liover Peguero and Brennan Malone were rated the Diamondbacks' Nos. 7 and 9 prospects. They are young — Peguero has just a brief time above rookie ball — but exciting. High bust risk, though.
— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) January 27, 2020
Peguero is a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic who was very impressive in short-season ball. The reviews on Peguero are all great. Only time will tell, but this kid could be a star in this league in the not so distant future.
If these prospects are so highly rated, why would the Diamondbacks trade them for a 31-year-old?
The answer is simple — and a great one if you are a D-backs fan. Arizona can afford to take chances with all of their top prospects because they built up a nice farm system that fortunately for them has loads of talent.
MLB experts rank the Diamondbacks farm system as one of the deepest and best in baseball. Arizona is only behind the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in terms of top-ranked minor league prospects.