Chicago White Sox: 4 trade candidates to fill in for Nick Madrigal

Ketel Marte

Ketel Marte is someone for the Chicago White Sox to consider right now.

This one might be a bit of a daydream scenario, but the facts are that the Arizona Diamondbacks are not good and Ketel Marte is outstanding. The White Sox need help at second base. Signed in 2011 at age 17, Marte came up through the Mariners organization. He was a top prospect as well and was once viewed as a part of the future of Seattle. In 2016, The Mariners sent Marte and Taijuan Walker to Arizona for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis.

Marte was hitting okay in Seattle but with an OPS of .658, Mariners had to dump him for the push that Segura and Haniger could give them. As a Diamondback, Marte slowly elevated and reached All-Star status in 2019 and even finished fourth in MVP voting. That season, Marte hit .329/.389/.592 slash with a .981 OPS. He dropped 32 home runs and drove in 92 along with 36 doubles and ten stolen bases.

The odd year of 2020 saw a strange .737 OPS from Marte but he only played 45 games of the already shortened 60 game season. Despite spending an early 10-day stint on the IL in early April, Marte has gone back to his near-MVP ways.

In 25 games this season, Marte is hitting an OPS of .977 with eight doubles, four home runs, and 14 RBIs. Combining his 2020 and ’21 seasons makes 70 games. In those games, Marte has 22 doubles, 31 RBIs and is hitting a slash of .314/.351/.466 with an OPS of .817.

Of course, acquiring a player like Marte would mean breaking the bank and cleaning out the farm system. However, it may not be wise to do so in a position that needs to be filled just for a few months. Does the fact that he can also play center field change things? Yes, but I would still be hesitant in cleaning the farm system just yet. Marte would be a nice young piece to have but the White Sox would be up against the New York Yankees who have inquired about Marte.