Royals reportedly in contract talks with former Mets, Pirates 361 stolen base free agent

The Kansas City Royals have been making moves this offseason. While they’ve not landed a top player like some other teams, including the Detroit Tigers, have this offseason, they did make a few nice moves.

Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas are nice outfield additions, while Matt Strahm was a big reliever pickup. But, after those moves, the Royals could still use another depth piece for the outfield.

According to Yancen Pujols on Twitter/x, the Royals have reportedly met with former New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder Starling Marte.

Royals in talks with Starling Marte per new report

“They tell me in the ‘Garcia Lounge’ that Starling Marte and the Kansas City Royals have been talking about a possible deal,” Pujols reports.

Marte is a 14-year MLB veteran who’s spent the majority of his career with the Mets and the Pirates. Marte is the active leader with 361 stolen bases, and he’s put up 39.3 bWAR, 291 doubles, and 163 home runs. He is also the MLB leader in triples with 55 in his career.

Since joining the Mets in 2022 on a $78 million deal, Marte has put up 4.7 bWAR, with 3.8 coming in his 2022 All-Star season. Last year, he put up 1.0 bWAR with a .745 OPS in 90 games for the Mets.

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While he might not be a main piece of the Royals roster if he does sign with the team, he could be an interesting depth option for this spring, and potentially, into the regular season.

Marte is a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner. He’s been a great player in his long MLB career, but he’s regressed a bit at this point in his career.

But the Royals could still use the 37-year-old outfielder as some interesting depth. He’s not a terrible hitter, and his defense isn’t bad either. Marte to Kansas City is something to monitor, as the longtime Pirates and Mets star could join the AL Central this spring.