Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, who gained attention recently by not showing up for a game, was back in the news for appearing in images on social media at a casino while his team was playing.
The three-time All-Star is not available to play after going on the 10-day injured list on Thursday due to left knee inflammation.
On Friday night, while the Diamondbacks were playing the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field in Phoenix, multiple videos and photos online showed the injured Marte across town at a roulette table in the casino at Talking Stick Resort. The Arizona Republic reported that one Instagram account showed a television at the casino broadcasting the game in the sixth inning in the images with Marte.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was asked after Friday’s game about Marte and said injured players are not required to attend games. Injured players are expected to do their rehabilitation at the team’s complex, Salt River Fields, before their free time.
“He’s free to do whatever he wants,” Lovullo told reporters after Arizona’s 9-0 win on Friday. “That’s how I look at it. As long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and posts and gets his work done at Salt River, which I am certain he will, that’s all that matters to me right now.”
It was a different story when the week started with the three-time All-Star not showing up for the team’s game Monday against the host Boston Red Sox.
Marte, 32, exited the Diamondbacks’ Aug. 14 contest against the Atlanta Braves with knee soreness and sat out the next day. He returned to play second base on Aug. 16 and traveled with the team for the series against the Red Sox.
The drama began when he did not report to the ballpark on Monday, leaving Lovullo in the dark about his lineup until 20 minutes before game time. The team subsequently put Marte on the restricted list.
Arizona reinstated Marte from the restricted list and transferred him to the 10-day injured list on Thursday.
Marte and his agent, Charisse Espinosa-Dash, met with Lovullo and Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen on Thursday afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz., to discuss what transpired in the wake of Marte’s absence on Monday.
According to Hazen, Marte received an injection in the knee to help with the inflammation that was found by an MRI.
Lovullo on Wednesday said he did not know why Marte elected to return to Arizona on his own instead of having an MRI in Boston.
Lack of communication during the saga made Lovullo feel “betrayed,” he said before Friday’s game.
“I was hurting,” Lovullo said. “I was clearly hurting. Once I saw what was unfolding, I became extremely frustrated, and I felt betrayed. And that’s a whole different type of pain and frustration. But I’m through that. I’m getting through that.”
The Diamondbacks (68-62) are two games behind the San Diego Padres for the third and final National League wild-card berth.
Marte is batting .249 this season with 21 homers and 67 RBIs in 118 games. The switch hitter is in his 10th season with Arizona and finished third in National League MVP voting in 2024 and fourth in 2019.
He was MVP of the 2023 NL Championship Series when Arizona defeated the Philadelphia Phillies and advanced to the World Series before falling to the Texas Rangers.
–Field Level Media
