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Ketel Marte

Diamondbacks Notes: Lawlar, Marte, Infield

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Diamondbacks prospect Jordan Lawlar is doing everything he can to push for a major league promotion, as he’s currently mashing in Triple-A. Assuming he eventually cements himself in the majors, the question will be what position he plays.

He came up as a shortstop prospect but the Diamondbacks don’t have much need at that position. Geraldo Perdomo took over regular shortstop duties in 2022. The Diamondbacks are evidently pleased with him there as they recently signed him to an extension that runs through 2029 with a club option for 2030. They could move Perdomo to second or third base, where he has some experience. However, his bat has only been around league average in recent years, as his speed and defense at short are his primary ways of providing value.

That has made it seem like Lawlar would eventually move to second or third. He has always had tremendous offensive numbers in the minors, so his bat should play elsewhere. The Snakes have had Ketel Marte as their regular second baseman for years and he’s signed well into the future as well, which seemingly made third base Lawlar’s best path. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that some scouts think Lawlar will take over at second and bump Marte to first.

There hasn’t been any reporting to suggest that the Snakes do plan on moving Marte to first, but perhaps their usage of Lawlar this year is a tell. With Triple-A Reno, he has 123 innings at second base so far. He has just 36 innings at third base this year and just 95 in his entire minor league career. He has hundreds of innings at shortstop over the years but just 54 in 2025.

It would be an interesting pivot if the club is making it. The Diamondbacks acquired Eugenio Suárez ahead of 2024 to cover the third base position. He was going into the final season of his contract, so it seemed possible that he was simply a stopgap until Lawlar was ready. Suárez struggled badly in the first half of last year but Lawlar spent most of 2024 injured, dealing with thumb and hamstring injuries. He only got into 23 minor league games last year, giving Suárez a chance to get back on track. Suárez destroyed baseballs enough in the second half that the club picked up their $15MM option on him for 2025, instead of going for the $2MM buyout.

Coming into 2025, it was still fair to expect that Suárez would eventually give way to Lawlar. Suárez turns 34 in July and will be a free agent at season’s end. That could still be the plan but the fact that Lawlar is playing a lot of second base is interesting. Marte has had some injury absences in his career and is currently on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He is 31 years old and the club recently extended him through 2031, which would be his age-37 season. Perhaps they believe that moving him to first base would be the best thing for his long-term health.

Right now, Josh Naylor and Pavin Smith are sharing first base and designated hitter duties. Naylor is an impending free agent, so that could provide an opening for Marte to slide into as soon as next year.

This is all still fairly speculative but it’s a notable position for the Snakes to be in. It’s possible that they are simply moving Lawlar around to different positions, experimenting to see how things go. If he seems viable at multiple spots, that will give them more choice for how to proceed next offseason, with both first and third base set to be vacated going into the winter. Another factor could be that LuJames Groover is also one of the club’s top ten prospects and is currently hitting well at Double-A while playing third base regularly.

However it plays out defensively, Lawlar is generating a lot of excitement with his bat. He’s currently sporting a line of .356/.451/.644 with Reno this year. He won’t be able to maintain a .457 batting average on balls in play forever but he has five home runs and a 13% walk rate. He also has 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts through 26 games.

Photo courtesy of Michael Chow, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Vlad’s Massive Deal, Extensions for Merrill and Marte, And Quinn Priester Traded

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines – listen here
  • What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here
  • The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More! – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Place Ketel Marte On 10-Day IL, Promote Tim Tawa

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4:54pm: Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (as well as team pregame and postgame radio host Steve Zinsmeister) today that Marte is expected to miss “weeks instead of days” due to his ailing hamstring. A more specific timetable for Marte’s return to action won’t be available until he meets with team doctors back in Arizona.

12:07pm: As expected, the Diamondbacks officially placed Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list, a day after the second baseman suffered a left hamstring strain while running the bases in Friday’s 6-4 win over the Nationals.  Infielder Tim Tawa was called up from Triple-A Reno in the corresponding move.

Tawa will be making his Major League debut the first time he appears in a game.  Garrett Hampson figures to get most of the playing time at second base in Marte’s absence, and Tawa will essentially take Hampson’s spot as a utilityman.  Over his five minor league seasons, Tawa has played primarily as a second baseman and at all three outfield positions, while also logging some time at the other three infield spots.

An 11th-round pick for the Diamondbacks in the 2021 draft, Tawa took a step closer to the big leagues when Arizona added him to its 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  Beyond his defensive versatility, Tawa has also posted some increasingly strong numbers at the plate during his minor league career, including a .317/.388/.665 slash line and 13 homers over 183 plate appearances at Triple-A Reno.

The usual caveats apply about the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment, yet it is easy to see why the D’Backs wanted to retain a multi-position player with these kinds of numbers.  While Tawa’s time on Arizona’s roster likely isn’t going to last beyond Marte’s IL stint, the 26-year-old infielder will get a prized opportunity to show what he can go at the MLB level.

Diamondbacks Notes: Marte, Pfaadt, Ballpark

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Ketel Marte’s new contract extension came as a bit of a surprise, given that the star second baseman’s previous contract already gave the Diamondbacks control through at least the 2027 season, and likely through 2028 given a club option.  However, Marte’s latest contract now keeps him in the desert through 2031 and puts an additional $64MM in his bank account, while also restructuring and spreading out the salary to give the D’Backs a bit of shorter-term payroll relief.

Most notably, $5MM of Marte’s $14MM salary for this season is deferred.  GM Mike Hazen implied that money could be quickly reinvested back into the team in terms of trade deadline acquisitions.

“This gives us more room, in terms of this year, to see what happens as we go through the season,” Hazen told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters.  “We certainly made a big investment at the beginning of the year, and this will give us that added flexibility as we move through.”

There’s no doubt Arizona is in all-in mode for the 2025 season, with an estimated $194.7MM payroll that far surpasses the previous franchise high.  Considering how many notable players (i.e. Zac Gallen, Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery) on high salaries are impending free agents, the D’Backs will be getting some money off the books next winter, but for now are firmly focused on winning while the entire group is together.  The Diamondbacks are off to a decent 5-3 start, though the club has been overshadowed by the red-hot performances of the other NL West contenders, and Marte now looks to be heading to the injured list due to a hamstring strain.

While Marte’s deal was his third long-term pact with the D’Backs, Brandon Pfaadt’s recent extension represented his first multi-year contract, as the right-hander is set to earn $45MM in guaranteed money over the 2026-30 seasons.  Now firmly locked in as a big part of the Diamondbacks’ future, Pfaadt almost didn’t end up in the organization at all, due to what Hazen now views as something of a “lucky” turn of events.

As Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Pfaadt was one of three players the Snakes were considering with their fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft.  That was the year the draft was shortened to only five rounds due to the pandemic, creating a crunch for both players in starting their pro careers, and for teams in making the most of a drastically reduced draft system.  As always, clubs were still looking to maximize their draft pool budgets, and the D’Backs asked the three players on their radar whether or not they would sign for less than the $360.8K slot value attached to the 149th overall pick.

Two of the players balked, but Pfaadt agreed to take a $100K bonus and thus became part of Arizona’s organization.  “I think there were 11 picks left after me.  It was getting towards the end.  We took the opportunity over any money amount,” Pfaadt said.

The decision has now paid off for Pfaadt in tremendous fashion, and now the D’Backs look wise in hindsight for finding a quality starter in the fifth round.  Naturally, Hazen and Sawdaye didn’t name the other two players considered, though Sawdaye said that one didn’t make the majors and the other did, “but Pfaadt is better.”  Sawdaye also said that if the other two players had also agreed to a below-slot price, the team might have gone with one of the others over Pfaadt, just because they had less scouting evaluation and background work on Pfaadt.

“Sometimes it works out in your favor and you get the right guys,” Sawdaye said.  “Other times you look back and you kick yourself.  You’re like, ’My god, we passed up on him just to save money?’ ”

In some off-the-field news for the Diamondbacks, a bill intended to re-direct sales taxes at Chase Field towards ballpark renovations continues to work its way through the state legislature.  Arizona’s House of Representatives has already okayed the bill and it is now under review from the state Senate, with the finance committee also giving it a green light after an amendment.  However, the mayor of Phoenix and Maricopa County officials in general have increased concerns over how much taxpayer money is involved in the bill.

The project still has a major supporter in Arizona governor Katie Hobbs, who said Wednesday in an interview with KTAR 92.3’s “Outspoken With Bruce and Gaydos” show (hat tip to Alex Weiner for the partial recap) that she would sign the bill “at this point.”  Governor Hobbs acknowledged the tax implications and said “one thing that we want to make sure happens in the bill is that it doesn’t harm the taxpayers.  That’s one of the things being worked out in the details.”

“I think everyone wants to do what we can to keep the Diamondbacks here in Arizona, keep Major League Baseball in Arizona and I think we’re very close to an agreement.”

Ketel Marte Likely Headed To IL With Left Hamstring Strain

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The Diamondbacks announced that Ketel Marte sustained a left hamstring strain in this evening’s win over the Nationals. The star second baseman pulled up lame as he ran out a first-inning double. He left the game immediately and was replaced by pinch-runner Garrett Hampson.

Manager Torey Lovullo suggested postgame that Marte was likely headed to the 10-day injured list (h/t to Megan Plain of Fox 10 Phoenix). The team will presumably have a better idea of how long he’ll be out as he goes through testing over the next couple days. Any absence is a significant blow on the heels of Marte’s first top-three MVP finish.

The two-time All-Star drilled 36 home runs with a .292/.372/.560 slash en route to a Silver Slugger award last season. Marte had been out to a strong start this year. Today’s double pushed him to 9-26 on the young season. He has drawn six walks while only striking out four times. The injury comes two days after Marte signed an extension that added four years and $64MM while deferring a decent chunk of salary to give the team more payroll flexibility in the short term.

Hampson is the only backup infielder on the active roster. He’s a light-hitting utility player who posted a .230/.275/.300 line over 113 games for the Royals last season. Blaze Alexander has been down since February because of an oblique strain. Grae Kessinger and Tim Tawa are on the 40-man roster if the D-Backs want to promote a backup infielder while drawing Hampson into the lineup at second base.

The higher-upside play would be to promote top prospect Jordan Lawlar, who hasn’t appeared in the majors since a late-season call in 2023. Lawlar missed most of last season to injury. There wasn’t a path to everyday playing time behind Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez, so the D-Backs optioned him back to Triple-A Reno to begin the season. He’s hitting .273 without a home run through his first six games. Primarily a shortstop, Lawlar made his third start of the season at second base in Reno’s game tonight. He has also made one start at third base and three at shortstop.

Diamondbacks Sign Ketel Marte To Extension

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The Diamondbacks announced a new seven-year contract with star second baseman Ketel Marte. It’s a reported $116.5MM guarantee that comes with $64MM in new money. Marte, who had already been under contract for three seasons, is now signed through 2031. He can opt out of the deal after the 2030 season, when there’ll be at least $11.5MM remaining. There are also $33MM in escalators and performance bonuses for the QC Sports client. Marte receives a five-team no-trade clause, though that’ll become moot when he gets 10-and-5 rights early in the 2026 season.

The contract takes effect this year and breaks down as follows: $14MM in 2025 ($5MM of which is deferred), $15MM in ’26, $12MM in ’27, $20MM in ’28, and $22MMM per season between 2029-30. Each top-three MVP finish would boost the following year’s salary by $3MM; it’d go up by $2MM if he finishes between fourth and seventh in MVP voting. The deal also includes $2.5MM annually from 2026-31 in plate appearance incentives.

The news surely comes as a delight to fans in Arizona. The face of the Diamondbacks franchise first flashed superstar potential back in 2019, when he was an All-Star and finished fourth in NL MVP voting after slashing .329/.389/.592 (150 wRC+) in 144 games. In the years since then, he’s generally been an above-average player but not necessarily a superstar, slashing .275/.347/.462 with a wRC+ of 118 from 2020 to 2023. That narrative changed in 2024, however, as Marte rediscovered his MVP-caliber form during his age-30 season with a phenomenal .292/.372/.560 (151 wRC+) slash line that earned Marte his first career Silver Slugger award, a second All-Star appearance, and a third place finish in MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor.

That’s the sort of elite production that makes for a phenomenal building block, so it’s not exactly a surprise that Arizona brass were interested in extending Marte’s stay with the club and making him a Diamondback for life. The club has often been aggressive about extending its top players under Mike Hazen, with this latest deal for Marte standing as the tenth extension agreed upon since he took over baseball operations in fall of 2016. It’s also the fourth of 2025, joining agreements the club reached with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, reliever Justin Martinez, and right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.

More notably, it’s also the third extension of Marte’s career. His first came back in 2018 when he was a pre-arbitration player. The switch-hitter was guaranteed $24MM by that first deal, which ran through the end of his expected team control window but also afforded the Diamondbacks two option years on what otherwise would’ve been Marte’s first two years of free agency. Marte’s second deal came about just before the 2022 season began, ahead of his final year before those options would’ve kicked in. That deal overwrote those two option years and guaranteed Marte $76MM for the 2023-27 seasons, and also included a club option for 2028.

The second deal ended up covering just two seasons, as it has now already been overwritten to extend Marte’s stay in Arizona through at least 2030, with a player option that could push the deal into 2031. Given the fact that Marte was already under team control through the end of his age-34 season, it’s at least somewhat surprising that the Diamondbacks would decide to commit to their second baseman’s mid-30s this far ahead of time. After all, the club very easily could’ve waited to see how Marte would perform over the next two or three seasons before opening discussions with Marte prior to the 2028 season, when they would likely exercise their club option over his services.

With that being said, the deal not only extends Arizona’s years of control over their star, but also restructures his existing contract. Marte was slated to earn $50.8MM over the next three seasons on his existing contract. That number drops to just $41MM with his new deal, saving the club nearly $10MM over the next three seasons and $5MM in 2025 alone. That also does not factor in the $46MM in deferred money in the deal, which cuts down the amount of money owed to Marte in the short-term even further.

That the Diamondbacks would seek a restructured deal with Marte in order to save a bit of money in the short-term is understandable considering that the team is deep into uncharted financial waters. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the club opened the 2025 season with a payroll of nearly $187MM. That’s an increase of $24MM over 2024, which was already the highest payroll in franchise history by more than $30MM. The club’s aggressiveness this winter in adding Corbin Burnes and swinging a trade for Josh Naylor was certainly admirable, but it’s long appeared likely that the Diamondbacks were likely stretching the limits of owner Ken Kendrick’s comfort zone.

If Arizona is facing the upper limits of its baseball operations budget, that could also explain the club’s reported insistence on suitors for struggling southpaw Jordan Montgomery eating at least $13MM of his $25MM salary for 2025 in trade talks as well as the club falling short in its pursuit of a top-flight closer this winter. Perhaps this restructured deal with Marte will offer them a bit more breathing room to work with at the trade deadline during an important 2025 season. After the current campaign, Montgomery and Naylor are slated to be joined by Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Eugenio Suarez in departing for free agency. That’s a lot of significant players who will need to be re-signed or replaced to avoid a step back in 2026, and it’s possible today’s restructuring of Marte’s deal could help the club fill those upcoming holes as well.

Mike Rodriguez first reported last night that the D-Backs and Marte were working on a new nine-figure contract. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was first on the $116.5MM guarantee, the $46MM in deferrals, the 2031 player option, and the salary structure. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers had the $11.5MM option value and the $149.5MM maximum after escalators. Piecoro had the escalator specifics.

Image courtesy of Imagn Images.

Shohei Ohtani Wins NL MVP

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Shohei Ohtani has his third MVP. The Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Ohtani won the National League MVP in his first season as a Dodger. Francisco Lindor landed in second place, while Ketel Marte rounds out the top three. Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes.

Ohtani becomes the first full-time designated hitter to win MVP, as he was unable to pitch for the entire season after undergoing elbow surgery late last year. He joins Frank Robinson as the only players to win an MVP in both leagues and he’s only the 12th player in big league history to win the award three times in his career. Barry Bonds is the only player with more than three MVPs — he won the award seven times — so Ohtani has a chance to move into second place on the leaderboard as he goes into his age-30 season.

While Ohtani’s first two MVPs reflected his two-way ability, this year’s honors are solely about his offensive dominance. He had arguably his best hitting season ever. Ohtani hit a career-high 54 homers and drove in 130 runs. He posted a .310/.390/.646 slash line, leading the National League in both on-base percentage and slugging. Ohtani also paced the Senior Circuit in homers and RBI while ranking second among qualified hitters in batting average. Luis Arraez hit .314 to narrowly prevent Ohtani from winning the Triple Crown.

Monstrous as his power numbers were, Ohtani was also perhaps the league’s best baserunner. He stole 59 bases, trailing only Elly De La Cruz in that category. While De La Cruz was caught stealing 16 times in addition to his 67 successful attempts, Ohtani was cut down on just four occasions. No player in history had ever posted a 50-homer, 50-steal season. Ohtani broke both marks easily, getting there with one of the best single-game performances in history. He went 6-6 with three homers, two steals and 10 RBI in a 20-4 drubbing of the Marlins to establish the 50-50 club.

Ohtani helped the Dodgers to yet another NL West title — their 11th division crown in 12 years. Los Angeles went 98-64 to secure the top seed in the National League. Playoff performance is irrelevant to awards voting, which occurs at the end of the regular season. Ohtani was relatively quiet in his first October action, hitting .230/.373/.393 in 16 games. That didn’t hold L.A. back from knocking out the Padres, Mets and Yankees en route to their second World Series in five years.

For a while, it seemed as if Lindor would pose a real threat to Ohtani winning the award. He hit 33 homers and stole 29 bases with a .273/.344/.500 showing over 689 trips to the plate. As a plus defensive shortstop, Lindor obviously provided significant defensive value. Ohtani’s historic offensive achievements proved decisive in the end, though this is Lindor’s first top three MVP finish. Marte raked at a .292/.372/.560 clip with 36 homers to earn the highest MVP placement of his career.

Lindor received 23 of 30 second-place votes. Marte finished second on five ballots. Braves DH Marcell Ozuna and Cy Young winner Chris Sale each got one second-place nod themselves. Ozuna and Milwaukee catcher William Contreras rounded out the top five in overall balloting. Giants third baseman Matt Chapman received one third place vote, though he placed 11th in balloting overall. Bryce Harper, De La Cruz, Jackson Merrill, Willy Adames, Zack Wheeler, Mookie Betts, Jurickson Profar, Kyle Schwarber, Manny Machado, Freddie Freeman, Arraez, Paul Skenes, Teoscar Hernández, Ezequiel Tovar, Jackson Chourio and Dylan Cease all received votes.

Image courtesy of Imagn. Full voter breakdown from BBWAA.

Diamondbacks Reinstate Ketel Marte From Injured List

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The Diamondbacks that second baseman Ketel Marte has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Outfielder Jorge Barrosa has been optioned to Triple-A Reno as the corresponding move.

Marte was having an elite season prior to landing on the IL with a sprained left ankle. In 116 games this year, he has hit 30 home runs and drawn walks at a 10.4% clip. His .298/.370/.560 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 150, indicating he’s been 50% better than the league average hitter. He has also stolen six bases and been given strong grades for his second base defense, leading to a tally of 5.3 wins above replacement in 116 games, per FanGraphs.

The ankle injury put that on pause, but not for long. He landed on the IL August 19, so he’s now back after just a little more than a minimum IL stint. That’s a tremendous development for the Snakes, though it could lead to some challenging lineup decisions for manager Torey Lovullo.

It’s possible that Marte will need some time as the designated hitter before retaking his second base job on an everyday basis. If that’s the case, the DH slot could get a little crowded. Joc Pederson has been the regular in that spot, at least against righties, as he’s usually shielded from lefties. The club acquired first baseman Josh Bell while Christian Walker was on the IL but Walker is now back as well.

The Diamondbacks haven’t shown any inclination to put Pederson in the field this year, so he seems to be DH only. Bell nor Walker aren’t realistic options anywhere other than first base, so one of them needs to be the DH if both are in the lineup.

Perhaps that will simply allow the skipper to rotate some down time to those veteran players as the club pushes towards the stretch run, but the games they are playing are plenty meaningful. The Diamondbacks are 79-62, putting them in the second Wild Card position. They are only half a game behind the Padres, who have the top spot, though Atlanta and the Mets are just 2.5 games back of the Snakes. Luis Guillorme and Kevin Newman have been platooning at the keystone lately but figure to lose out on playing time whenever Marte takes over that position.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. To Undergo MRI On Left Calf

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The Diamondbacks’ 14-3 rout of the Dodgers today wasn’t an entirely smooth ride for Arizona, as left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. left the game after suffering some tightness in his left calf.  The injury occurred when Gurriel was trying to beat out a grounder in the bottom of the sixth, and he was replaced in left field when the seventh inning began.  Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) that Gurriel is day-to-day for now and will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

Gurriel is hitting .274/.316/.428 with 17 home runs over 522 plate appearances this season, while posting solid defensive metrics across the board as the Diamondbacks’ everyday left fielder.  The glovework is a bit less impressive than it was in 2023, but Gurriel’s 104 wRC+ is just a shade beneath his 105 wRC+ in 592 PA a year ago.  That successful first season in Arizona and his continued hitting in the playoffs inspired the D’Backs to re-sign Gurriel in free agency last winter, bringing him back on a three-year, $42MM deal that includes a club option for 2027.

While Gurriel has been prone to pretty extreme hot-and-cold stretches at the plate, his streakiness has evened out to a pretty stable career track record.  Over the last five 162-game Major League seasons, Gurriel has averaged no less than 1.6 fWAR and no more than 2.0 fWAR, though his 1.9 fWAR through 125 games this year could get a new highwater mark.

Of course, that’s assuming this calf problem doesn’t require a stint on the 10-day injured list.  Calf injuries can be tricky to manage and anything more than minor cafe issues can tend to linger, so there will be some measure of concern in the Diamondbacks’ camp until the MRI comes back clean.

Arizona can hardly afford to lose another regular during the playoff hunt.  Today’s victory put the Snakes five games back of the Dodgers in the NL West race, and just percentage points ahead of the Padres for the top NL wild card berth.  While the D’Backs have built a little breathing room in their pursuit of at least a wild card, the team has hung in even though Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, and Gabriel Moreno are all on the 10-day IL.

The good news on the injury front is that Walker is “real close” to a return, Lovullo told Piecoro and company today.  Walker could be back at some point during the Diamondbacks’ six-game road trip that begins Tuesday in San Francisco, as the first baseman has progressed to facing live pitching in workouts at the team’s Spring Training camp.  It doesn’t appear as though Walker will need a minor league rehab assignment, even though he has been sidelined for over a month due to a left oblique strain.

Moreno’s IL stint (due to a groin strain) is also nearing the one-month mark, as Moreno hasn’t played since August 5.  Lovullo said Moreno is hitting and has resumed catching drills.  Marte is also taking live at-bats but isn’t yet running out of the batters’ box, as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain that sent him to the IL on August 18.

Diamondbacks Place Ketel Marte On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced that second baseman Ketel Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle. Infielder/outfielder Pavin Smith has been recalled as the corresponding move.

Marte has been battling an ankle injury for over a week now. Last Saturday, when playing the Phillies, catcher Garrett Stubbs slid into second while trying for a hustle double. Marte received the throw coming in from left field and tried to apply a tag to Stubbs when the two collided but his leg got stuck awkwardly underneath the Philly catcher (video from MLB.com).

Arizona’s second baseman was removed from that game in obvious pain but has tried to play through the injury since then. He was in the lineup for last Monday’s game but appeared to be in pain again and was removed from that contest. He then missed a few days but returned to the lineup on Saturday, serving as the designated hitter. Yesterday, he wasn’t in the starting lineup but entered as a pinch-hitter but appeared to aggravate his injury on a check swing and was removed before finishing his at-bat.

After those failed attempts to stay on the field, he will now spend at least ten days on the shelf. Manager Torey Lovullo doesn’t seem too concerned, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com on X, saying that they believe it’s a low-grade sprain and that Marte just needs some rest. Whether he needs to miss more than the 10-day minimum or not remains to be seen, but it’s a huge blow to the Diamondbacks regardless as Marte has been putting himself into the MVP conversation with a stellar season.

Marte has 30 home runs this year and a 10.4% walk rate, while limiting his strikeouts to a 17.8% clip. His .298/.370/.560 batting line translates to a 152 wRC+, indicating he’s been 52% better than league average at the plate. Only ten qualified major leaguers have a better mark than that this year. He’s also stolen six bases and received strong grades for his defense at the keystone. Only six players have more wins above replacement than his 5.4 this year, per FanGraphs. Francisco Lindor and Shohei Ohtani are the only two National League players ahead of him there.

Subtracting that kind of production would hurt any team, but the Snakes also have Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno on the injured list at the moment, meaning they head into this week without three of their best regulars.

The D’backs have been playing very well of late and currently sport a record of 69-56. They are only four games back of the Dodgers in the West and have possession of the second National League Wild Card spot, but teams like Atlanta, the Mets and others are in striking distance. The Snakes will be trying to stay ahead of that pack in the coming weeks but will be doing so without Marte, Walker or Moreno on the roster, and it’s unclear when any of those three could be returning to the club.

Kevin Newman has been playing a lot of second base in Marte’s stead in the past week and may continue doing so. He’s a solid defender but has hit .262/.305/.361 in his career for a 78 wRC+. His .281/.314/.382 batting line this year is slightly better but still translates to a subpar 92 wRC+.

Smith’s recall is likely just about giving the club an extra bat, as he’s only played first base and the outfield in his career. Blaze Alexander is likely the club’s current backup at the three positions to the left of first base, supporting Newman, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez.

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