Ketel Marte is widely-known as the perfect second baseman in Major League Baseball. Arizona Diamondbacks followers have been the strongest proprietors of that narrative.
But nearly as good as Marte has been, he has by no means fairly been referred to as a defensive second baseman. Perhaps that’s partly as a result of second base not being fairly as premium a defensive place as shortstop or third is likely to be. Regardless, Marte is called a bat-first infielder.
And but, as Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer listed MLB’s most elite “dual-threat” gamers (that means a mix of offensive and defensive prowess) Marte was, considerably surprisingly, listed as each an offensive and defensive star — overcoming the defensive reputations of Brice Turang and Nico Hoerner.
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte Listed as Dual-Threat Star
“Marte has never won a Gold Glove, and he’s not exactly top of mind among the best defenders at the keystone in MLB today,” Rymer wrote.
“And yet, he is in the black for both DRS (29) and OAA (7) for his career, and he’s twice had more than 10 DRS in a season. The most recent of those was just last year, when he was a Gold Glove finalist.
Marte’s offense, of course, is what truly pushes him far above his competition.
“[Hitting] is the half that basically units Ketel Marte aside from his fellow second basemen,” Rymer continued. “He’s averaged 30 house runs throughout the final three seasons, whereas the co-leaders on the place in 2025 solely obtained as excessive as 31.
“Like Cal Raleigh, Marte is so good largely because he’s a legitimately good switch-hitter. His .893 OPS as a lefty and .891 OPS as a righty were nearly exact mirrors of each other last season.”
It’s simple to take a look at Marte’s offensive manufacturing and neglect that there’s a easy, dependable second base glove. He could not carry the utility designation or make highlight-reel defensive performs on the common, however his numbers do present him to be a generally-positive defender.
In truth, the star infielder is not satisfied with his lack of defensive hardware. He has that accomplishment in his sights forward of 2026.
“I’ve been working on my defense. I need a gold glove,” Marte instructed reporters at Salt River Fields previous to departing for the World Baseball Classic.
“[Platinum Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado and I have] been working together. He’s going to help me to win the gold glove. And it’s going to be better with Nolan out there. Our infield is going to be better for sure,” Marte mentioned.
