The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the heat of the wild-card chase. They have a record of 66-60 and currently sit only a game back of the San Diego Padres for the final NL Wild Card chase. This is the time of the season when everyone needs to be locked in and focused on baseball. However, all the talk about the Diamondbacks has centered around Ketel Marte. On Monday, just a few hours before first pitch against the Boston Red Sox, the team announced they were putting Marte on the restricted list. This has stirred up a lot of conversations and speculation about what is going on. So here is what has been reported and how it affects his future.
What’s Going On With Ketel Marte?
There have been two storylines surrounding Marte. The first one is that Marte is dealing with a mental issue and just did not show up to the ballpark. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported that Marte was fine physically and just didn’t show up. This was backed up by what Diamondbacks manager Tony Lovullo said during his postgame press conference. Lovullo fought back tears during the interview and said he did not know what it was, but he was dealing with something. He also said he loved and cared for Marte.
However, this morning Lovullo told the media that Marte was heading back to Phoenix to undergo an MRI on his left knee. But this just does not make sense, considering all the reports going around that he was fine. Plus, teams do not just place injured players on the restricted list. Now it’s entirely possible that Marte was frustrated by his leg injury and did not go to the ballpark because he was not mentally prepared. But if that was the case, why wouldn’t the team announce he was going through some sort of injury?
There are also the comments of Diamondbacks’ general manager Mike Hazen. When asked if he was upset about the situation, Hazen said it was unfortunate he wasn’t at the game tonight and that he was going to leave it at that. That does not sound like the answer you give if you knew a player was dealing with some sort of injury. Plus, if anyone were to know about the injury, it would be Hazen. This response sounds like the response you give if a player did something you did not like and you are angry about it.
This is not the first time that Marte’s absence has upset the club. Last season he missed three games after his house was robbed in the Dominican Republic. During this stretch, some players and members of the front office were upset about how the situation was handled and about his leaving during the pennant chase. It is what led to so many trade rumors this past offseason. For it to happen again around the same time will only make this resentment grow. It could come to a point where the whole team is against Marte.
While this whole situation is weird, it could lead to the end of Marte’s time with the Diamondbacks. He could be doing reversible damage to his relationship with his teammates, and the Diamondbacks might have to trade him to get rid of the drama.
