Diamondbacks place 2B Ketel Marte on 10-day IL with wrist inflammation

The Diamondbacks have placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list with wrist inflammation, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. They also recalled infielder/outfielder Josh VanMeter and right-hander Joel Payamps, and optioned lefty Joe Mantiply.

The Diamondbacks are arguably the majors’ most disappointing team at an NL-worst 15-28, and with their playoff hopes all but dead, it’s possible we have seen the last of Marte in 2020. His presence was among the reasons Arizona was a popular pick as a contender entering this year. After all, just a season ago, Marte posted an MVP-level 7.1 fWAR with a .329/.389/.592 line and 32 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 628 plate appearances.

On the heels of last season’s tremendous performance, there wasn’t much reason to believe Marte would fall off dramatically this year. But he, like his team, has. Thanks in part to a significant decrease in walk percentage (8.4 to 2.9) and a massive drop in power (.264 ISO versus .117), he has hit a relatively underwhelming .290/.342/.407 with two homers and a single steal over 173 plate appearances. Marte has also endured a roughly 6 percent decrease in hard-hit rate, per FanGraphs, and has seen his expected weighted on-base average fall from .379 to .327.