6:07pm: The D-Backs officially announced the move. Rookie infielder Jose Fernandez was optioned to Triple-A Reno to open the roster spot.
5:42pm: Second baseman Ketel Marte is in the lineup for the Diamondbacks and batting fourth tonight, per Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. The club hasn’t yet officially announced a roster move but Marte will clearly be reinstated from the IL. Various sources, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic had previously indicated that Marte was to be activated today.
Marte has been at the center of an unusual saga in recent weeks. A couple of weeks ago, the Snakes put him on the restricted list when he didn’t report to Fenway Park for a game against the Red Sox. Manager Torey Lovullo framed Marte’s absence as being related to a personal issue. The next day, it was reported that Marte was flying back to Phoenix to undergo an MRI on his left knee, as he had been experiencing some soreness there.
A couple of days later, he was transferred from the restricted list to the injured list, with his ailment listed as left knee inflammation. Despite that IL placement, the unusual circumstances in the prior days continued to be a talking point around baseball, especially with the Diamondbacks in a playoff race. They are currently 73-65 and half a game ahead of the Padres for the final National League Wild Card spot.
Losing a player of Marte’s caliber would be frustrating under any circumstances but the unique details of Marte’s situation have added some fuel to the fire and this isn’t the first time it has happened. Last year, reports emerged that some members of the team were frustrated with Marte’s tendency to miss games, including a situation around the All-Star break where he took off for the Dominican Republic. Lovullo said today, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, that this is the fourth straight season where Marte did not show for a game without permission.
In the Piecoro piece linked up top, he reports that members of this year’s club recently met with club officials and said they wanted to welcome Marte back to the team, with their desire to win outweighing their frustration with his unusual behavior. “I don’t have a whole lot to say on it, other than we’re going to welcome him, we’re going to try to win some ball games,” Nolan Arenado says in the piece. “I just think everybody’s focus should be on playing baseball. Whatever other stuff goes down, I don’t know, that should be dealt with after the season. For now, I think our focus should be on trying to get into a playoff spot and on baseball, period.”
Lovullo says that Marte has apologized to him and general manager Mike Hazen. As of the piece being published yesterday, he had not yet apologized to his teammates but Lovullo suggested he would like it to happen after the series against the Giants, which wrapped up yesterday. “We’re playing good baseball right now,” Lovullo said. “We need to keep playing good baseball. I think an apology would galvanize this group. He doesn’t know how powerful that would be if he did something like that.”
The Snakes were off yesterday but are back in Arizona today to start a key series against the Phillies, who are four games up on the Diamondbacks. Today, Marte spoke to the media in Spanish through an interpreter, with some video relayed by Weiner. He didn’t say anything that would clear up the confusion. As of that press conference, he still had not spoken to his teammates. He described his absence as a moment of frustration and related to the fact that he doesn’t like to discuss his personal life when issues come up.
Marte is a key player for the Diamondbacks now and into the future, as his current contract runs through 2031. He was in plenty of trade rumors in the offseason but stayed put. He now has ten-and-five rights, giving him full no-trade protection, complicating the possibility of any further deal. His off-field behavior could also have a drag on his trade value, depending on how other clubs view his absences.
His on-field contributions are obviously great. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has a .274/.352/.489 line and 129 wRC+. This year is a relative down season for him but he still has 21 home runs, a .249/.314/.446 line and 106 wRC+ despite an unlucky .257 batting average on balls in play. The hope will be that the players can do as they said, putting the diversion aside while they focus on winning. Time will tell on how this impacts the long-term picture.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
