We now know who Mariners refused to trade for Ketel Marte originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Seattle Mariners were in the market for a trade for an infielder, which meant Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte had appeal.
In the end, though, the Mariners ended up with Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals instead. That’s in part because of who Arizona wanted for Marte.
According to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, the Diamondbacks wanted Cole Young. The Mariners refused to deal him.
That’s a logical stance to take for a couple of reasons.
For one, Young was a 2022 first-round pick and still has great long-term potential.
Young is also expected to be an MLB contributor in 2026. Trading him for a different major league contributor, while potentially an upgrade, isn’t as much of a boost.
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The only big leaguer Seattle had to trade to get Donovan was Ben Williamson, who was likely looking at a glove-first backup role this season anyway.
Now, the Mariners have both a potent new hitter in Donovan, but they also have Young to keep developing toward becoming a solid ballplayer.
Young made his MLB debut in 2025 and hit just .211 in 223 at bats. But he’s just 22 years old, and the Mariners clearly believe in what he can do.
It’s a huge vote of confidence in Young that Seattle chose to keep him out of trade negotiations and instead trust the player he can grow into.
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