Pirates trade Starling Marte to Diamondbacks for pair of prospects

Starling Marte’s days with the Pittsburgh Pirates were numbered from the time Ben Cherington became general manager Nov. 18.

Cherington saw the center fielder as his best trade option in his attempt to restructure — the Pirates still won’t use the term “rebuild” — the roster. The 31-year-old Marte is under club contractual control through 2021, meaning his value never would be higher.

And so the longest-tenured member of the team and the last link to their three postseason teams from 2013-15 is gone.

The Pirates traded Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. In return, Pittsburgh received two 19-year-old prospects, right-hander Brennan Malone and shortstop Liover Peguero, along with $250,000 of international bonus money.

The Pirates also sent $1.5 million to Arizona in the deal to help offset part of Marte’s $11.5-millon salary for the upcoming season.

Cherington said during a late-afternoon news conference at PNC Park he had talked to various team about Marte over the last two months. The deal with the Diamondbacks is the one that made the most sense.

“We set, internally, a line that we felt we needed to be passed to get a value on,” Cherington said. “Not a specific type of return but the type of return that would make us consider trading him. And we felt like this proposal from the D-Backs crossed that line.”

Malone, Peguero and whatever players the Pirates sign with the bonus-pool money won’t help at the major league club anytime soon. However, both are considered to have the potential to be above-average players.

Baseball America ranked Peguero as the Diamondbacks’ No. 7 prospect earlier this winter, and Malone was at No. 9. Both are likely to start the season with the Pirates’ low Class A Greensboro farm club.

“Certainly, they are in the earlier part of their development curve, but both possess significant upside, the kind of players who have a chance to make an impact on the Pirates in the long term,” Cherington said. “The third piece, the spending space, gives us an opportunity to do something, hopefully, in the international market.”

Peguero is considered a strong defensive player by scouts, many of whom think he will be able to play shortstop in the major leagues. He split last season between rookie-level Missoula and low Class A Hillsboro, hitting .326/.382/.485 in 60 games with five home runs and 11 stolen bases.

The Diamondbacks selected Malone from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in the supplemental first round of last year’s amateur draft with the 33rd overall pick. He was limited to eight innings between the Arizona Rookie League and Hillsboro in his pro debut, allowing four runs.

Under former GM Neal Huntington, the Pirates considered selecting Malone at No. 18. They instead chose Quinn Priester, another high school righty.

Marte made a memorable debut for the Pirates on July 26, 2012, hitting a home run on the first pitch of the game from Astros left-hander and future Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

In eight seasons with the Pirates, Marte batted .287/.341/.503 with 108 home runs and 239 stolen bases in 953 games. He won Gold Gloves in 2015 and ‘16 and was selected to the All-Star Game in ’16.

Marte had one of his best seasons last year when he won the Roberto Clemente Award, emblematic of the team’s MVP, in voting by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

He hit .295 with a career-high 23 homers and 25 steals in 132 games.

However, like so many Pirates stars before him, Marte eventually was sent away.

“We have a foundation of talent in Pittsburgh and in our system that we feel will be a key part of our success,” Cherington added. “We also know that we need more of it if we are going to realistically be able to compete deep into September and October.”