Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 unrated
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Ketel Marte was absent from Monday’s Diamondbacks-Red Sox game and placed on the restricted list.
- Manager Torey Lovullo says he only knows Marte is dealing with a personal issue and is awaiting more information.
- Lovullo says he hopes Marte returns this season and calls him one of the NL’s best players.
- The Diamondbacks are in the middle of a postseason race, making Marte’s absence significant for the team.
Where they differ
- AZFamily provides the detailed reporting, including the unconfirmed MRI report from MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and Marte’s social media activity.
- AZFamily includes historical context, noting Marte was previously placed on the restricted list last season after a home burglary.
- FOX 10 Phoenix covers the story only briefly as part of a broader sports roundup segment, without independent reporting on the medical angle.
ystem
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte missed Monday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox without notice, was placed on the restricted list, and has since traveled back to Phoenix for what a beat reporter describes as an MRI on his knee. Manager Torey Lovullo says he’s been told only that Marte is dealing with a “personal issue” and that the team hasn’t yet learned more.
What actually happened Monday night?
Marte simply didn’t show up for the Diamondbacks’ game against Boston. The team responded by placing him on the restricted list and recalling infielder Jose Fernandez from the minors to fill his roster spot before first pitch. Arizona went on to lose 11-1. Lovullo told reporters afterward that he’d spoken with Marte that morning but got almost nothing in response. “There was very little coming back,” he said, adding that Marte “didn’t show up today” and was put on the restricted list, and that “in time we’ll start to uncover some information.”
Is there a medical explanation?
MLB.com Diamondbacks beat writer Steve Gilbert reported, citing a source, that Marte was heading back to Phoenix on Tuesday to get an MRI on his knee. As of the reporting, the Diamondbacks organization had not confirmed that account. It’s unclear how a knee issue would connect to Marte being AWOL from the ballpark or placed on the restricted list, and no team official has laid out a clear timeline or explanation tying the two things together.
What has Marte said publicly?
Marte stayed active on social media Tuesday morning. He reposted videos from former Detroit Tigers pitcher Sandy Báez and shared a photo of himself alongside the Bible verse 2 Corinthians 4:9, which reads roughly as “persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” He has not issued a public statement explaining his absence.
Has something like this happened before?
Yes. This is the second time Marte has landed on the restricted list. Last season he missed three games after his Scottsdale home was burglarized during the All-Star break, prompting him to fly to the Dominican Republic. He later apologized for missing those games, saying he’d been “frustrated” and “in a bad spot” after learning about the break-in.
Will Marte play again this season?
Lovullo says he hopes so, calling Marte one of the best players in the National League. “We need him,” Lovullo told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. Marte, a three-time All-Star, is hitting .249 with 21 home runs and 67 RBIs over 118 games this season, and Arizona is trying to hang on in the postseason race, which raises the stakes on however long his absence lasts.
What’s still unknown?
The Diamondbacks have not confirmed the nature of Marte’s issue, whether it’s medical, personal, or both, and have not given a timetable for his return. The MRI report remains unconfirmed by the team as of this writing, and Lovullo himself said he’s still waiting for information.
Sources
Featured photo: Reunion via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)