BOSTON — Star second baseman Ketel Marte’s absence from the Arizona Diamondbacks grew only more mysterious as it dragged into day two.
A day after the Diamondbacks placed Marte on the restricted list for failing to show up to Arizona’s series opener at Fenway Park, manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday he thinks Marte returned to Phoenix to get imaging on his left knee. Lovullo also said he has not heard from Marte, and he’s unsure whether anyone in the organization is currently in contact with him.
“I’m still hoping he’s OK,” Lovullo said. “Looking forward to having a connection with him at some point as soon as possible. Overall, I feel like if you don’t show up to work, something is on your mind (and) something’s not right, and we’ve got to get it right.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Marte’s locker in the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park remained intact. His stuff arrived at the ballpark. He didn’t.
Left to publicly explain Marte’s unexcused absence, Lovullo had few concrete answers. He said he didn’t know whether the knee injury had anything to do with Marte not showing up Monday. He said he didn’t know why Marte hadn’t gotten imaging in Boston instead of Phoenix. He said he didn’t know whether to expect Marte back in the lineup for the stretch run.
“I hope so,” Lovullo said. “We need him. He’s a good player. One of the best players in the National League, as far as I’m concerned.”
Ketel Marte did not show up to Fenway Park on Monday. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
Marte, 32, is a three-time All-Star with two top-five finishes in National League MVP voting. He’s not having a typically superb season at bat, yet he still has 21 homers and a 107 OPS+. He is in the second season of a seven-year, $116.5 million contract signed in April 2025. Of that $116.5 million, $41 million is deferred and the payouts do not begin until 10 years after the money is earned.
Marte tweaked his left knee and exited Friday’s game in Atlanta, then sat Saturday before playing Sunday. On Monday, he was supposed to serve as DH. It doesn’t seem the position change rankled Marte; Lovullo said that conversation would have happened after Marte got to the park.
The Diamondbacks entered play Tuesday with a 66-60 record, one game out of a wild-card spot in a tightly packed National League playoff picture. On Monday, without Marte, they fell behind early against the Boston Red Sox and lost, 11-1. “We lost a bit of focus, I’m not going to lie,” Lovullo said. “It was a tough day for everyone.” After the game, Lovullo addressed the players in the clubhouse about the Marte situation, stressing the importance of staying on the same page.
The focus now, right-hander Brandon Pfaadt said, is to “stay connected.”
“We have 26 guys that we feel confident in right now,” he said. “Just staying together, going out there and putting our best product on the field and playing together, that’s all we can do.”
Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno said he had texted Marte but had yet to hear back. “I want to talk to him and see how he feels,” Moreno said, “and tell him, ‘Hey, we’re with you.’”
Marte has reportedly irritated teammates and coaches with his frequent off-days in the past. The situation first gained attention late in 2024, when the Diamondbacks were contending for a wild-card spot and Marte missed a pivotal game against the San Francisco Giants. The club ultimately missed out on a playoff spot due to a tiebreaker.
“In my opinion, it’s something needed,” Marte said at the time. “I don’t think that it’s too many days off. I’ve had injuries in the past, and this is a plan that has been integrated with the coaching staff and myself, in order to keep me on the field the longest.”
“I’m still hoping he’s OK,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Ketel Marte. “Looking forward to having a connection with him at some point as soon as possible.” (Erik S. Lesser / Associated Press)
Then came 2025, when Marte again missed time. In this instance, it happened after the All-Star break and after Marte’s Phoenix home was burglarized, leading the second baseman to depart the team and head back to his native Dominican Republic. In total, Marte missed three games.
“I mean, obviously due to the circumstances of my situation, I got frustrated and was in a bad spot,” Marte told reporters in August 2025. “But I truly want to apologize for my teammates and everybody else that is supporting the team.”
With Marte’s 10-and-5 rights — 10 years of service and at least the past five with the same club — set to go into effect at the beginning of the season, the Diamondbacks mulled the possibility over the winter of dealing Marte. Doing so would’ve allowed the club to address its pitching needs. Players with 10-and-5 rights can veto a trade to any team. Marte previously worked under a limited no-trade clause. However, in early January, the club put the trade talk to bed, fully committing to Marte as their franchise second baseman.
Having endured multiple long-term injuries at the beginning of the season, the final stretch of the season was supposed to represent a momentum shift for Arizona. On the same day that the club placed Marte on the restricted list, it welcomed back reliever Justin Martínez and former first-round pick Jordan Lawlar. Elsewhere, 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes continues to throw bullpens in advance of a potential late-season return.
Instead, Arizona will have to weather yet another absence, one that could contribute to them missing the postseason for a third consecutive season.
When asked Tuesday why he had characterized Marte’s situation as a “personal issue” after Monday’s game, Lovullo said he was asked by club personnel to describe it that way. “I would still deem it as such,” Lovullo said. Later, he described his relationship with Marte as close — “maybe like a father-son relationship.”
“That explains how much he’s hurting right now,” Lovullo said. “I just want to be available to him. He knows I’m available. When he’s ready, he’ll reach out.”
