Diamondbacks Announce Reason for Ketel Marte's Removal From Lineup

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 6:08 PM ET

The Arizona Diamondbacks (73-74) have experienced an up-and-down year as the team enters the final three weeks of the season. After losing their top free agent acquisition Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery and trading multiple stars at the deadline, the Diamondbacks still sit just three games back of the final NL wild card spot entering Friday.

A huge reason for the team’s competitiveness despite losing so many key pieces has been the stellar play of second baseman Ketel Marte. The 31-year-old veteran has appeared in 113 games, posting a .281 batting average, .381 on-base percentage, .892 OPS, 25 home runs and 65 RBIs.

Marte has consistently been one of the best hitters in the league over the past nine seasons in Arizona and in 2025 made his third All-Star selection.

Diamondbacks Share Latest Ketel Marte Update

During Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants, Marte left early with an athletic trainer. The team later announced he had suffered a right foot contusion after fouling a ball off his foot in the first inning, but X-rays came back negative and it wasn’t expected to be serious.

Ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins, the original lineup suggested Marte had moved past the injury—he was listed as the starting second baseman, hitting second. However, hours before gametime, the Diamondbacks scratched Marte and replaced him with teammate Ildemaro Vargas.

The Diamondbacks announced the decision via manager Torey Lovullo during his weekly media appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7’s Burns and Gambo.

“He tried to make a go of it, got to the ballpark here, and we just decided that the best thing would be to give him the day,” Lovullo said. (h/t Alex D’Agostino of Sports Illustrated)

This is an unfortunate development for Arizona if the foot contusion continues to linger. Although the team no longer has high expectations after a wave of season-ending injuries—most recently Lourdes Gurriel Jr.—and deadline sell-offs, Marte’s availability has kept the Diamondbacks in postseason contention. His status will be monitored throughout the weekend series in Minnesota.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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