The Arizona Diamondbacks placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the restricted list Monday night after he did not show up at Fenway Park for the team’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox.
Following the Diamondbacks’ 11-1 loss, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Marte was fine but that he didn’t know where the three-time All-Star was.
“It’s been a crazy day,” Lovullo said. “All I know is that he’s dealing with a personal issue. We’re trying to figure that out. He didn’t show up today and he was put on the restricted list. That’s as much as I know right now. I’m sure in time we’ll start to uncover and unravel some information.”
Lovullo said of his discussion with Marte early Monday, “I just was doing my best to reach out to him. There was very little coming back. … I know there was a lot of discussions about it at different points in time in the clubhouse today. There was a lot of curiosity. We care for Ketel.”
Marte traveled with the team from Atlanta, the site of the Diamondbacks’ previous series, to Boston, Lovullo confirmed.
He didn’t come to the ballpark, though, causing the Diamondbacks to delay releasing their starting lineup till minutes before the first pitch. Ildemaro Vargas, who has split time between first and second base this season, started the game at second, and Tim Tawa was Arizona’s first baseman.
The D-backs also recalled infielder Jose Fernandez from Triple-A Reno in a corresponding roster move. Fernandez started the game at third base and finished at shortstop, going 1-for-3.
Marte, 32, has been the subject of odd absences before. His home in Arizona was robbed the night of the 2025 All-Star Game, and he chose to travel to his native Dominican Republic in the aftermath, missing the Diamondbacks’ first three games after the All-Star break. He apologized for his decision to leave the team following a report that some teammates were unhappy with him.
Lovullo defended Marte in June of this year amid reports that Marte continued to take days off and was frustrating members of the organization.
“There are days off that are needed. They’re fairly scripted. … But there’s this underlying theme that he’s not a good teammate and it’s pulling at the fabric of the clubhouse chemistry, which is not true at all,” Lovullo said then. “What I ask that stops is that theme that something is wrong in our clubhouse or something isn’t right in our clubhouse because of Ketel Marte. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
–Field Level Media
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