Torey Lovullo Addresses Ketel Marte Situation

Torey Lovullo began his press conference on Monday by addressing the elephant in the room.

Just before Lovullo spoke, Ketel Marte had addressed the media for the first time since the article last week came out detailing player and team personnel frustrations over his absence surrounding the All-Star break.

Torey Lovullo's comments on the Ketel Marte Situation

"I know that Ketel talked to you guys, and I'm proud of him for doing that. That's not easy for him to do, and I know he showed some vulnerability, and I'm really proud of him for digging in the way that he did."

Marte did indeed show a good deal of contrition over the situation and apologized for missing the games immediately following the All-Star Break.

Related Content: Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte Apologizes for Missing Games

Lovullo went on to praise Marte effusively.

"He's a great teammate. He's a great young man. He goes out there and plays hard every single day for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And he just wants to win baseball games. That's it.

"I really don't want to say much more than that other than speaking about what I know of him, and it's over. I want to put it behind us because we've got baseball games," Lovullo said.

The Diamondbacks' Recent Poor Play in Colorado

The Diamondbacks had played good baseball for a couple of weeks post-trade deadline, but then dropped three of four in Colorado to effectively knock themselves back out of the race.

How much the Marte situation was a distraction on the field is debatable. The main issues Saturday and Sunday were bullpen meltdowns.

Related Content: D-backs' Poor Execution Wastes One of Last Remaining Chances

Lovullo addressed those ups and downs.

"We put ourselves right back into this race by playing good baseball and focusing on baseball. Maybe the past couple of days, that's drifted away from us.

"I think at the end of the day, we've got to go out there and fight. Fight together, finish games, play 27 outs, and at the end of the night, we know that we did our best to do everything to focus on the right things."

Diamondbacks Injury Updates

Gabriel Moreno is still on his rehab assignment with the Reno Aces. He will catch back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Salt Lake City. Those are the last boxes that Moreno needs to check before he returns to the club. The time table appears to be a Friday, August 22 activated date.

"When he gets back here, I want to be able to say, Gabi, you're catching Friday and Saturday, and I'll give you Sunday off. And then get you Monday, Tuesday, and we'll see how you feel for Wednesday. Maybe I can get you three in a row at that point," Lovullo said.

Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the 15-day IL with right thumb flexor inflammation. He did not require an injection. He has an appointment to see the hand specialist on Tuesday to come up with a game plan, but he's in a no-throw situation for now.

Nabil Crismatt will remain in the rotation for now. He pitched five effective innings in Colorado on Sunday. He'll get at least one more start, Lovullo said.

Ryan Thompson will throw a live batting practice session on Tuesday. Usually those are followed by game action shortly after.

Cristian Mena's throwing program has progressed out to 105 feet. He has not yet begun throwing from a mound.

Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear to Platoon at First Base

Pavin Smith and Ildemaro were activated from the injured list. Smith is in the lineup on Monday. Lovullo said he will get all the starts against right-hand starting pitchers.

But he also said Tyler Locklear will be called upon to pinch-hit frequently when a lefty is brought in, and will start against all left-hand starting pitchers.

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