Offseasons for non-contenders tend to be long and dreary. Your favorite player gets traded away for prospects, the best signing is a middling reliever or washup starter, and the eager expectation for the upcoming season lacks its pristine shine. While some of these characteristics are found in the D-backs’ offseason, the winter has featured a surprise signing of Mark Melancon, and the fan-favorites remain on the team. Now, with an extension of star second baseman Ketel Marte, the club has given fans something genuinely worth their excitement.

The decision was a no-brainer for the club. The contract will keep Marte in the desert through 2027 at an incredibly reasonable price of $76MM, a third of which was already included on his current contract. The deal also includes a club option for 2028. With the potential to chase after MVP awards, he could have fetched a far more impressive figure if he finished his contract healthy and productive in Arizona.

The extension will ensure that Marte is around when the D-backs are competitive (presuming their present rebuild is successful). This summer, I wrote about the club’s looming decision over whether to trade Ketel. Prior to the extension, it hung on whether the club believed it could be competitive before the end of his contract, which would expire after the 2024 season. The team’s farm system is already prepared to make an impact, and being playoff-ready by then is within the realm of reason. But if they needed an extra year to get there and Marte walked in free agency, the franchise would have missed a key opportunity to add major prospects.

Now, that concern is completely moot. Marte will be around for the prime years of the next competitive team. In his early thirties, he should still be a highly productive player if not still a star. With much of the team’s top offensive prospects being outfielders, it shores up an almost certain area of future need. In essence, this is the equivalent to a rising team signing that big name, just with the signing occurring a few years prior to the actual competitive window.

That does, of course, come with some degree of risk. Time hides a bounty of secrets, and the D-backs no longer have the advantage of seeing the next few seasons before deciding to keep Marte around. Although the rewards well outpace the risk, it’s still worthwhile to acknowledge the potential pitfalls. Marte has struggled to stay on the field, and while a move back to the infield could diminish those concerns, the best predictor of future injuries is prior injuries. It’s very possible that muscular leg injuries continue to plague him throughout his career; dealing with that may become part of what it means to have him on your team.

The team also can’t know how Marte’s bat will age. He will by no means be old during this extension, but at 28, he’s settling in towards the middle of his career. His insane contact abilities may slip toward the end of the contract. However, we’ve already seen Marte embrace more of a slugger’s role. He’s added some beneficial weight that’s allowed his power numbers to rebound from a hampered 2020 season, and it wouldn’t be surprising for him to settle into that profile as he ages. While some defensive and on-base abilities may decline, the power tradeoff could keep his bat elite.

Both of these concerns may fade from our memories, of course. The transition back to the dirt bears promise to cut down on his injuries, and he may hardly experience the effects of aging during this current extension. While we often package a player within the larger trends, it’s important to bear in mind that there are always outliers, and once a guy has hit .329 and slugged .592 in a full season, he might just be one.

The D-backs aren’t just extending an elite hitter; they’re extending the kind of player who is fun to root for. Most of you, I presume, don’t need any sort of explanation. You’ve seen him play and experienced the natural happiness that just seems to flow out of him. He takes the game so seriously that he can hit a ball at his shins way farther than any human ought to be able to. But at the same time, he often remembers that baseball is ultimately a game made to be enjoyed, both by those watching him play and by himself. How many wins does that add above replacement? Probably not a lot. For the fans watching a team in yet another rebuilding cycle, however, the smiles Ketel brings might be more precious than a tenth of a WAR. 

Any team would jump at the opportunity to extend their star hitter for a more than reasonable price. Even if Marte declines by the time the extension kicks in, the price will likely still be reasonable. Best of yet, the extension ensures the Ketel will be a key part of the club’s next competitive window and assuages questions over whether trading him would be in the organization’s best interest. As fans wait for the competitive window to come, he’ll serve as a much needed distraction from the club’s losing record. While many teams are excited for competitive opportunity they have in 2022, the Marte extension gives a burst of hope to an organization thirsty for such a boost.