March 2nd: Kansas City officially announced Marte’s one-year contract. Anne Rogers of MLB.com said that’s a $1 million guarantee that comes with an additional $2 million bonus. Half of that money will come through roster bonuses and the other half through incentives.
February 28: Starling Marte And the Royals agreed to a one-year major league contract. The financial terms of the deal are not yet known. The deal will be completed once Marte passes his physical and the Royals will likely have to make another trade to free up space on the 40-man roster for a Klutch Sports client.
2025 was Marte’s final season under his four-year, $78 million contract with the Mets. Marte had hoped to play for a few more years, but there was no public interest in his free agent market over the winter. Now the 37-year-old has joined the Kansas City club. The Kansas City club’s interest in the two-time All-Star dates back to last winter. At the time, the Royals had conversations with the Mets about a possible trade.
Marte’s tenure in New York was defined by injuries. He only played in 396 games over four years. Groin problems were the cause of most of Marte’s problems. Surgery on his left and right groin muscles following the 2022 season did not fully resolve the problem, causing the injury to re-emerge in 2023. Marte also missed time due to a neck strain, a migraine and a bone bruise in his right knee, and the Mets responded to Marte’s lower-body injury by essentially making him a full-time designated hitter in 2025.
Marte appeared in 12 games in the outfield last year, and given the Royals’ need for outfield help, Kansas City could consider giving him a little more time on the turf in 2026. Isaac Collins And right-handed batting. lane thomas The Royals’ primary outfielder this winter is a left fielder who resembles Collins, a defensive specialist. Kyle Isbell Thomas in the center and left-handed jack calianone Perhaps in a right field platoon situation. Salvador Perez And the best prospect carter jensen He’ll take on catcher duties, and the guy who isn’t behind the plate will likely get a lot of opportunity at the designated plate spot.
It could add another part-time role for Marte, but there is value in having a veteran bat on the roster. Calianone struggled badly in his first exposure to big league pitching in 2025, and Thomas is essentially having a lost year due to injury in 2025. Thomas’ best season came in 2023 with the Nationals, when he hit 28 home runs, but he has posted just a 98 wRC+ in 1,900 plate appearances over the past four seasons. Collins is also far from a sure thing, as he had an impressive 2025 rookie season for the Brewers despite some hard contact issues that may have been overshadowed by his .326 BABIP.
Marte hasn’t looked like a true top-tier hitter since 2022, but he still posted a respectable .269/.331/.398 slash line with 16 home runs and 699 PA over 699 PA during the 2024-25 season, posting a 108 wRC+. Marte is still making hard contact at an above-average rate despite his power (and overall statcast metrics) dropping.
Of course, it’s yet to be seen whether Marte can maintain this level of production into his 15th major league season. Considering how little the Royals have gained from their outfield mix over the past few years, and that Caglianone is still a very high-profile prospect with breakout potential, one could argue that Collins, Thomas, and Marte are bound to be upgrades for KC.
Marte’s next contract will certainly be worth millions in guaranteed money and will probably include some bonus provisions based on plate appearances. The Royals’ payroll currently stands at about $149.2 million (according to RosterResource estimates), a slight increase from $139.8 million in 2025. This is consistent with owner John Sherman’s comments in October that salaries will likely remain in the same general range. This naturally limited a bit what the front office could do to pursue needed lineup help.
Reporter Yancen Pujols first broke the news that Marte and the Royals were in contract talks. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (multiple links) reports that a deal has been made and Marte has signed an endorsement deal.
