Royals Agree to Deal With Starling Marte

On Saturday afternoon, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that the Kansas City Royals had agreed to a deal with outfielder Starling Marte, pending a physical.

Yancen Pujols, via El Extra Base's Daniel Alvarez-Montes, reported early this morning that Marte and the Royals had progressed in talks and were close to signing a deal to bring him to Kansas City. 

The Royals have shown interest in Marte before. Last year, a possible deal at the Winter Meetings would've brought Marte to Kansas City in exchange for reliever Hunter Harvey. However, the deal couldn't be finalized. Marte was also a free agent this winter, and there were rumblings that he fit what the Royals were looking for in the outfield for 2026.

Marte has a career 35.9 fWAR and is a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove award winner. He's been beset by injuries over the past few years, as he hasn't had more than 370 plate appearances in a season since 2022, his first season with the Mets. Last season, in 329 plate appearances, he slashed .270/.335/.410 with a .326 wOBA, 112 wRC+, and 0.7 fWAR. He also had nine home runs, 37 runs scored, 34 RBI, and seven stolen bases.

In terms of his Statcast percentiles, he showed a decent 90th percentile exit velocity and ranked in the 52nd percentile in strikeout rate. However, he is definitely a player in the later stages of his career, as illustrated in his TJ Stats summary from 2025 below. 

Despite this declining skill set, it's likely that Marte will be a platoon bat who will rotate among all three outfield positions with Isaac Collins, Kyle Isbel, and Jac Caglianone. MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers reported that Marte, who is coming to Kansas City on a one-year deal, will be utilized mostly as a depth piece off the bench, but he could earn more playing time if he produces like he did last year or in 2024 (103 wRC+). 

It sounds like Marte will be receiving a Major League deal, which means that the Royals will likely DFA someone on the 40-man roster to make room. Outfielders Dairon Blanco and Drew Waters seem like prime candidates, especially Waters, who is out of Minor League options and posted a 66 wRC+ in 219 plate appearances last season.