Ketel Marte has returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting lineup for the first time after leaving the team unexpectedly in Boston on August 17 and subsequently landing on the injured list due to a knee problem. On Monday, Arizona reinstated Marte from the IL, slotting him into the cleanup spot as the designated hitter for their series-opening matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It was a frustrating situation,” Marte remarked on Monday regarding his departure in Boston. “… My relationship with (manager Torey Lovullo) is very good. On that occasion, I let him down by failing to appear. When I got up that morning, I was experiencing physical pain. The choice was entirely mine. I made the call not to show up on my own.”
Jeers greeted Marte during his initial plate appearance on Monday, and the crowd booed once more when he hit a groundball out to first base.
During his stint on the injured list, Marte was seen at an area casino while the D-backs were playing a home game at Chase Field. Typically, sidelined players are not obligated to remain with the ballclub or sit in the dugout throughout games. During that phase of his rehabilitation, Marte was working on his knee recovery earlier in the day at the team’s spring training facilities.
Lovullo appealed to Diamondbacks supporters to be patient with Marte, even as the skipper admitted that this marks the fourth year in a row Marte has sat out a game without authorization. “On previous occasions when this occurred, I requested that it not repeat itself. We are still working through this,” Lovullo commented, noting that he directed Marte to extend an apology to his teammates collectively.
“I will feel much better once I speak to my teammates individually and collectively,” Marte stated. “I have already spoken with a few of them, and I plan to repeat this before the entire group … to ask for their forgiveness.”
This occurrence is not the sole instance of Marte causing irritation among his teammates. He previously stepped away from the team following a burglary at his residence during the previous season’s All-Star break, and his tendency to ask for games off has also drawn scrutiny. Prior to his unexcused absence in Boston, Marte had been in the starting lineup for 116 out of the team’s 125 contests.
The 32-year-old Marte is experiencing a sub-par campaign relative to his usual performance. He secured a third-place finish in the 2024 MVP ballot and earned All-Star nods in each of the past two seasons. Although he was the subject of trade speculation throughout the winter, Arizona did not finalize a transaction. In April, he secured complete veto power over trades as a 10-and-5 veteran (having played a decade in the majors, with at least the last five consecutive seasons with his current club).
Despite any lingering friction, the Diamondbacks have repeatedly committed to Marte long-term. Last April, he agreed to a seven-year, $116.5 million contract extension featuring an $11.5 million player option for the 2031 campaign. This transaction represented the third extension Arizona has negotiated with Marte, following prior five-year agreements finalized in 2018 and 2023.
“His talent level is incredibly high,” general manager Mike Hazen remarked to The Athletic in defense of supporting Marte through these controversies. “Ultimately, you have to balance what you are prepared to tolerate against the caliber of performance required to secure victories. Our objective is to win baseball games.”
Heading into Monday’s action, the Diamondbacks hold a 73-65 record. They sit marginally ahead of their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, for the final National League wild-card position.
