Diamondbacks Place Marte on Restricted List After Second Straight
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Arizona Diamondbacks placed All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte on the restricted list after he failed to show up for Monday's 11-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
- Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Marte was "dealing with a personal issue" and said he spoke to Marte Monday morning and afternoon but got "very little coming back."
- Lovullo said Marte had traveled with the team to Boston and he believed Marte was still there, but wasn't certain.
- Marte now has gone AWOL in back-to-back seasons — last year he was placed on the restricted list after his Arizona home was broken into during the All-Star break, prompting him to fly to the Dominican Republic and miss three games before apologizing.
- Arizona recalled infielder Jose Fernandez to fill Marte's roster spot; Fernandez was already in Boston as insurance after Nolan Arenado exited Sunday's game with "trunk discomfort."
- Marte, a three-time All-Star, is hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs in 118 games this season, and his status going forward — on the field and in the clubhouse — remains unresolved, per Lovullo.
- Lovullo on Marte's future: "I haven't got that far. I need a good night's rest, a glass of wine and we'll think about that."
Why it matters: Marte is a three-time All-Star hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs, and losing him mid-season for an indeterminate stretch weakens the Diamondbacks' lineup precisely as they're managing a separate injury concern with Arenado. A second consecutive unexplained absence raises accountability questions for the clubhouse, even as Lovullo framed it as a private matter.
Ask SkimNews
