Ketel Marte returned to action for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. It was not well received. Marte appeared in his first game since not reporting to the team's Aug.
17 matchup against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park, but the two-time Silver Slugger was met by a crowd of boos before and after his second inning at-bat at home against the Philadelphia Phillies. Regarding the August incident, Marte didn't show up for any of the Diamondbacks' games in Boston from Aug. 17-19, with the franchise losing contact with him altogether.
He was later seen gambling at a casino in the Phoenix area, with manager Torey Lovullo expressing that he felt "betrayed." Arizona placed Marte on the 10-day injured list with a knee injury on Aug. 21, which came after he was previously placed on the restricted list. "It was a moment of frustration," Marte said via translator Alex Arpiza after Monday night's 2-1 loss, according to MLB.com.
"I'm the type of person that, when something is going on in my life, I don't like to talk about it. That morning I woke up, my body was in pain and I couldn't react. "No one made the decision for me.
I'm the one that made the decision not to show up." Marte finished Monday night's game 1 for 3 with a walk, while serving as the team's designated hitter. "I get along really well with Torey [Luvollo]. In that instance, I failed him by not showing up," Marte said.
"Not going to the stadium, that’s what I regret." On the season, Marte, a three-time All-Star, has posted 21 home runs, 67 RBIs, a 108 OPS+ and 1.9 wins above replacement over 523 plate appearances, while owning a .250/.315/.445 slash line. He has posted zero defensive runs saved in 95 starts at second base, while being the team's designated hitter in 22 starts. As for Marte's contractual future, the 32-year-old is in the first season of a six-year, $116.5 million deal with the D-backs.
Arizona (73-66) is a half-game behind the San Diego Padres for the third National League wild-card seed.
