Starling Marte Trade Rumors: Mets, Padres Involved as Talks 'Intensify'

Spring training is set to begin on February 21, but there's still enough time for a Starling Marte trade to come to fruition.

According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman Friday morning, "talks are intensifying" for the Pittsburgh Pirates' All-Star outfielder. The San Diego Padres and New York Mets are named as interested suitors.

"Still a chance something gets done before spring training," Heyman added. 

On Thursday, The Athletic's Dennis Lin reported on the Padres' interest in trading for Boston Red Sox All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, noting "talks with the Pirates have cooled, likely over the asking price" for Marte.

Talks between the Pirates and Mets seem to be headed in the similar direction:

The Mets were described as being "the most aggressive" in pursuing Marte during December's winter meetings, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

The 31-year-old two-time Gold Glove winner has spent his whole MLB career with the Pirates since debuting in 2012, though he's ready to move on.

"If I had the power, I would love at this point [to leave] because the caliber of player (the Pirates) have is not that of a team ready to compete for a World Series," Marte told MLB Insider Hector Gomez in late November (h/t the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). "The Mets have everything they need.

Marte added: "If [the Mets] want me, I know I have the ability to help them. ... If it happens, it is a great opportunity for me. If not, I will continue to work hard to help my team."

Pittsburgh went 69-93 while the Mets finished 86-76 in 2019.

Overall, Marte has a .287/.341/.452 career slash line with 108 home runs and 420 RBI across 953 games. In 2019, Marte went .295/.342/.503 at the plate for a career-high 23 homers and 82 RBI, and all 128 of his starts came in centerfield.

Should Marte land with the Mets, he'd likely replace 26-year-old Brandon Nimmo in centerfield.