The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the middle of a sizzling playoff race with 34 games remaining as of Friday, trying to eliminate distractions and play their best baseball as they work to return to the postseason for the first time since 2023.
Ketel Marte has made that basically impossible.
Four days after the three-time All-Star’s mysterious disappearance during a road trip in Boston, the D-backs were still trying to figure out how to move forward after one of their best players essentially ghosted teammates and management during a crucial moment in the season.
“Once I saw what was unfolding, I became extremely frustrated,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I felt betrayed. And that’s a whole different type of pain and frustration. But I’m through that.”
Marte, D-backs Brass Meet On Thursday
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Lovullo said he met with Marte on Thursday, along with general manager Mike Hazen and Marte’s agent. The 32-year-old second baseman was put on the 10-day injured list with left knee inflammation shortly after the meeting.
Lovullo didn’t get into many of the details of the discussion, but did say Marte had some frustration about his ailing knee. The switch-hitter was scheduled to be the team’s designated hitter on Monday night before his no-show.
Marte — who is hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs this season — was not in the clubhouse during media availability on Friday.
“There’s right ways to handle things and wrong ways to handle things,” Lovullo said. “I think the conclusion that was drawn up yesterday was that we could have been better. Ketel could have been better, specifically. Admittedly so.
“I want to manage baseball games. I want to do what I love doing between the white lines and not have to answer these types of questions. … I don’t love the drama that follows this ballclub. I want to be a good baseball team and we’ve got to figure this out.”
The D-backs might be more willing to deal with Marte’s baffling behavior because he’s currently the longest-tenured player on the team and one of the most productive hitters in franchise history. The Dominican has 1,215 hits and 189 homers since joining the club in 2017 and is generally well-liked in the clubhouse. He also is under contract through 2030 with a player option for 2031.
“I love Ketel Marte — my relationship with him is not going to change,” Lovullo said.
But there’s little doubt the mercurial Marte has put the franchise in a tough situation.
And it isn’t the first time he’s had a strange disappearance.
Last season, he went on the restricted list when his home in Arizona was broken into during the All-Star break. He missed three games after flying back to his native Dominican Republic and later apologized for his absence.
D-backs Teammates In The Dark
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Regarding Marte’s latest absence, many of his teammates said that didn’t know much about the situation and were essentially reading media reports to figure out details.
Reliever Kevin Ginkel said the situation was disappointing, but he also cared about Marte and wanted him to be healthy, both mentally and physically.
“There’s really no explanation for it,” Ginkel said. “But we’ve got 30-something games left and hopefully we can get him back and it’ll give us a nice little push into the playoffs.”
Ginkel said teammates were eager for Marte’s side of the story. It’s unclear when, or if, that might come.
“I think it’d be nice to hear it — for sure,” Ginkel said. “I think a lot of players are kind of frustrated about how it happened. But first and foremost, it’s him getting his knee right and mentally being in a good place to where he can come back and help contribute.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
