Should Red Sox Sign Alex Bregman Or Trade For Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte?

Boston Red Sox fans hoping to find a present gift-wrapped for the holiday season could be getting coal in their stockings. That’s because the latest update on free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is not encouraging.

“A scenario exists in which the Arizona Diamondbacks would both sign free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman and keep second baseman Ketel Marte,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports Thursday. “Those two, combined with right fielder Corbin Carroll and shortstop Geraldo Perdopmo, would give the DBacks four of the top position players in the game.”

However on Wednesday, Rosenthal reported Arizona signing Bregman “would be possible only if the Diamondbacks first trade second baseman Ketel Marte.”

So which player is better suited for Boston? Bregman or Marte?

The Red Sox know what they would be getting in Bregman. The 31-year-old is a three-time All-Star with two World Series titles, a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove Award on his resume.

Bregman batted .273 with 18 home runs in 2025 and drew rave reviews for his clubhouse presence as the Red Sox paraded rookie after rookie through the dugout.

But Bregman also missed two months of the season with a right quad strain. That could give the Red Sox reason to believe signing Bregman to a long-term contract doesn’t make sense.

The 32-year-old Marte also is a three-time All-Star and has a pair of Silver Slugger Awards on his mantle. He’s seen as a bit more durable, having played at least 126 games in each of the last four seasons. And Marte has hit at least 25 home runs for three years straight.

He finished third in voting for the 2024 National League MVP Award after setting career highs with 36 home runs and 95 RBIs.

In addition, Marte signed a six-year, $116.5 million contract extension in April, keeping him under team control through 2031. That comes out to less than $20 million per season.

“Not only does Marte come with a reasonable contract for a player of his caliber, but he plays a position the Red Sox have lacked stability at since that fateful night in Baltimore in 2017 when Manny Machado spiked Dustin Pedroia’s surgically-repaired left knee,” MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported.

“Though a report recently surfaced that Marte has a limited no-trade clause of five teams, including the Yankees, the Red Sox aren’t on that list,” Browne added.

The rub with getting Marte would be the haul of prospects Boston has to send to Arizona.

“The Red Sox are one of the few teams with depth to deal from on the pitching side and the position-player side,” MLB.com’s Ian Browne noted.

But look, prospects are just that. Prospects. Not all of them pan out and not all of them can play at the same time. It’s just a matter of deciding when to cash in and tap the farm system.

So what is the best option for the Red Sox? Trading for Marte or re-signing Bregman?

In an ideal world, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow would find a way to do both.

Worst-case scenario is Breslow misses on both.

But if he has to choose between one or the other, Marte seems to make the most sense, both in terms of cost and durability.