Manager Torey Lovullo said there had been ‘very little’ communication with Marte
Aug 17, 2026
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10:32 pm ET
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The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the restricted list, the club announced on Monday night prior to their road game against the Boston Red Sox (BOS 11, ARI 1). In a corresponding move, the Diamondbacks recalled infielder Jose Fernandez from Triple-A.
Marte was placed on the restricted list after he failed to show up at Fenway Park for Monday night’s game, manager Torey Lovullo confirmed, saying that Marte was “fine.”
“It’s been a crazy day,” Lovullo said after Monday’s loss in Boston. “All I know is (Marte’s) dealing with a personal issue. We’re trying to figure that out. He didn’t show up today and he was placed on the restricted list.”
Lovullo went on to say that there had been “very little” communication with Marte and that Lovullo “was doing my best just to reach out to him. Very little coming back.”
Lovullo said he believes Marte is in Boston, where the team traveled after a weekend series in Atlanta. Teams may place players on the Major League Baseball restricted list for unexcused, personal, or non-baseball reasons.
Players on the restricted list are not paid and do not accrue MLB service time until returned to the roster.
The move to the restricted list comes almost exactly one year after Marte publicly apologized for being away from the team after the 2025 All-Star break. Marte’s absence followed an incident in which his in-season home was burglarized. Eventually, some of his Arizona teammates expressed frustration over his absences and off-day requests in the midst of a playoff race.
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“Sometimes you get disappointed. Sometimes you get let down. But we’re going to figure out how to work through this,” Lovullo said on Monday.
The manager then noted that Marte’s teammates had “lot of curiosity” about the situation, but once they knew Marte was not hurt or in danger, “everybody relaxed and focused on the game.”
Marte, 32, has not played up to his typical All-Star standards in 2026, but he was still enjoying a productive season for the contending D-backs.
Marte, a three-time All-Star selection, is in the midst of a six-year, $105 million contract with Arizona that runs through at least the 2030 season with an $11.5 million player option for 2031. With a career WAR of 34.9 with Arizona, he ranks third on the all-time franchise WAR leaderboard.
Fernadez was able to replace Marte in manager Torey Lovullo’s lineup because he was already in Boston in case third baseman Nolan Arenado needed to be placed on the injured list, MLB.com reports. Fernandez went 1 for 3 in the loss.
The Diamondbacks are 66-60 and only one game behind the Padres for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.
