Diamondbacks GM Sets Record Straight on Ketel Marte

There's been plenty of discussion surrounding Arizona Diamondbacks' second baseman Ketel Marte and the reported frustration from the team about Marte taking days off.

Related Content: Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte Apologizes for Missing Games

According to the report that started it all, some felt that Marte's inexcused absence around the time of the All-Star Break contributed to the downward spira l that led to GM Mike Hazen selling off key members of the club.

On Wednesday, Hazen set that record straight.

Speaking to Arizona Sports 98.7's Wolf & Luke, Hazen said he doesn't place the responsibility for the Diamondbacks' downturn on Marte.

Mike Hazen Doesn't Blame Ketel Marte for Diamondbacks' Failures

Hazen said he struggles to see how the Marte situation was the factor that set Arizona down a rough path. While no one is blameless, necessarily, Hazen said Marte's absences were not the driving force of the D-backs' decline.

"This mindset of where he is on our team and his inability or abilit y to help us win is hard for me to just take that... the recent results, which are not just a result of him, it's a result of, we didn't play very well for the first three months of the season.

"We played very poorly defensively, and we didn't pitch very well, and we sustained three significant injuries. ... I just feel like I've seen words that get thrown out there, I think unfairly because I've seen how things get addressed and are included with myself, so it's obviously on me as well.

"I also want to focus more on the things that I think have driven more wins and losses this year, and quite frankly, it's not on the offense or the position players. It's been on the pitching and the defense," Hazen said.

The GM did not shy away from the ugliness of the recent situation, but noted that the team has already dealt with and addressed Marte's absences.

"I'm not ignoring the inconsistencies with some of the things that have happened. He's addressed those things. We've addressed those things with him. ... My take on this situation is our clubhouse is imperfect. So are the 29 other clubs in baseball. We're just fixated on ours," Hazen said.

Related Content: Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte Apologizes for Missing Games

He emphasized that Arizona does not treat Marte with a "different set of rules," but that different situations may require varied approaches.

"I think we handle each one of these things individually. Is everyone treated exactly fairly in this game with regard to what you would perceive rules are? No, but since the dawn of time, I don't think there's been a clubhouse in any professional sport where that's t he case," Hazen said.

The days off themselves are not the issue — Marte has had a history of injury. Hazen said he asks manager Torey Lovullo to offer his players those types of days off.

"Every player on my roster gets days off. I ask him to give players days off to maximize their health because the second he ends up on the 15-day IL with a sore hamstring, then everybody comes back around the other side saying that we hurt him, right?" Hazen said.

"Look, Ketel is one of, if not our best player. He's a superstar in this league. You win with superstars in this league.

"Two years ago, we went to the World Series with this player on our team. He broke all kinds of records in the playoffs playing on this team. So where this lays down at [Marte's] feet and where it's coming from now is a little bizarre to me," Hazen said.

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