The Kansas City Royals have reportedly signed two-time All-Star outfielder Starling Marte to a free-agent deal ahead of the 2026 season.
Marte, 37, has a wealth of MLB experience. He has played 14 years with five different teams — including the last four seasons with the New York Mets.
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Reports first circulated on Friday night. Baseball reporter Yancen Pujols wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that both sides were working on a deal. MLB insider Mark Feinsand relayed that Marte reportedly agreed to terms on a major-league deal, pending a physical.
The Royals have not confirmed the signing.
Marte was productive with the Mets last season. He hit .270 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 98 games. Marte owns a .781 career OPS (on-base plus slugging) and two Gold Gloves.
The Royals have looked for a right-handed bat. The club is skewed left-handed with available bench options. Now, Marte has a chance to boost the Royals in a potential reserve role.
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Marte will give the Royals more outfield flexibility. Currently, Isaac Collins will start in left field while Kyle Isbel will handle center field duties. Jac Caglianone will get an opportunity in right field with Lane Thomas able to play all three spots.
It’s unclear how much Marte will play in the outfield. He played 12 games swapping between the corner spots. A big reason was due to injuries. In his Mets tenure, he dealt with groin injuries, a neck strain, migraines and a bone bruise in his right knee.
The Royals like to use their designated hitter spot in multiple ways. And Royals manager Matt Quatraro is known to feature the entire roster. There could be opportunities available for Marte to find his way to consistent at-bats with a strong start.
For now, the competition for the final bench spots has intensified. The Royals have guys such as Michael Massey, Nick Loftin, John Rave and Tyler Tolbert looking to make the 26-man active roster.
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Other players — such as non-roster invitees Brandon Drury and Kevin Newman — have MLB experience and could showcase themselves in camp.
The Royals have until opening day on March 27 to make their final decisions. They will face the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park to begin the 2026 season.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
