Ketel Ricardo Marte Valdez (born October 12,1993) is a Dominican professional baseballsecond baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners. Marte made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2015,and was traded to the Diamondbacks during the 2016–17 offseason. Marte has been named the starting second baseman for the 2019,2024 and 2025 All-Star Games. In 2023,he won NLCS MVP en route to Arizona's first pennant since 2001.
The Mariners promoted Marte to the major leagues on July 31,2015.[8] Going into the 2016 season,Marte was named the team's starting shortstop following the trade of Brad Miller.[9] However,Marte struggled in 2016,batting .259 with a .287 on-base percentage and striking out 84 times in 119 games while missing significant time due to a left thumb injury and mononucleosis that resulted in 3 separate stint on the disabled list.[10] The Mariners attempted to trade Marte for the Cincinnati Reds' Zack Cozart during the season.[11]
Batting .316 with 20 home runs and 51 RBIs in late June 2019,Marte was named the starting second baseman for the MLB All-Star Game.[17] He finished the season batting .329 with 32 home runs and finished fourth in NL MVP voting. He played more games in center field than second base. In the shortened 2020 season,Marte hit .287 with 2 home runs and 17 RBI.[18] On April 8,2021,Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. He returned on May 19.[19]
On March 29,2022,Marte signed a five-year,$76million contract extension with the Diamondbacks.[20] He finished the 2022 season batting a career-low .240.[21][22]
Marte rebounded in 2023,batting .276 with 25 home runs and a career-high 71 walks.[22] In Game 3 of the 2023 NL Championship Series (NLCS),Marte hit a walk-off single for his third hit of the night as the Diamondbacks won 2–1.[23] In Game 7,Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to 16 games,the longest hitting streak by any player to start his postseason career in MLB history.[24] Marte finished the series batting .387 and was awarded the NLCS MVP Award.[25] Marte extended his streak to 18 games in Game 2 of the World Series,setting the MLB record.[26] Marte's streak ended in Game 5 of the series,the longest hit streak in postseason history at 20 games,passing Manny Ramirez,Derek Jeter,and Hank Bauer,who all had 17-game streaks. Marte was the last out of the World Series,striking out looking against Rangers reliever Josh Sborz to clinch the series for the Rangers.
Batting .292 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI at the 2024 All-Star Break,Marte was named the starting second baseman for the All-Star Game.[27][28] On August 19,Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain. He returned on September 6.[29] He ended the 2024 season with batting .292 with a career-high 36 HRs and 95 RBI. Marte won his first Silver Slugger Award of his career.[30] He finished third in NL MVP voting and was named to the All-MLB First Team.[22][31]
On April 2,2025,the Diamondbacks signed Marte to a six-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $116.5 million.[32] Three days later,Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. He returned on May 2.[33] On June 2,Marte reached third place on the all-time career RBIs list as a Diamondback with 481. He surpassed Steve Finley’s 479 with his two-run homer in the third inning. He trailed Luis Gonzalez (774) and Paul Goldschmidt (710).[34] In July,Marte was voted to start his third All-Star Game.[35] The night of the All-Star Game,his home in Scottsdale,Arizona was robbed;Marte said he lost $400,000 worth of items. Marte missed three games following the All-Star break,traveling to the Dominican Republic. His absence frustrated some of his teammates,according to a report in the Arizona Republic in August.[36] Days after the report,Marte apologized for his absence.[37] Marte finished the 2025 season batting .283 with 28 home runs in 126 games,his fewest since 2021.[22] For the second consecutive year,the Diamondbacks were eliminated from the postseason in the final series of the season.[38]
Marte's mother,Elpidia Valdez,died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2017. The Diamondbacks placed Marte on the bereavement list following her death.[40] In June 2025,a fan at Rate Field in Chicago heckled Marte regarding his mother,leading Marte to break down in tears. The Chicago White Sox and MLB announced the fan was banned from attending games indefinitely.[41][42][43]
Marte is nicknamed "Pike," (PEE-keh) which in the Dominican Republic refers to someone with "swag".[10][44]
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