The Arizona Diamondbacks placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a sprained left ankle. Marte injured his ankle more than a week ago in a collision with a baserunner at second base. He immediately left the game in obvious pain and missed several games last week.
Marte tried to keep playing despite his ankle sprain, but it became clear he needed rest when he re-aggravated the injury in a pinch-hit appearance on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks had no choice but to place Marte on the injured list during a heated postseason push. In a corresponding move, Arizona recalled Pavin Smith from Triple-A.
Today’s #Dbacks Roster changes. pic.twitter.com/www2uDZ0TN
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) 19 August 2024
Diamondbacks place Ketel Marte on injured list due to ankle sprain
Marte’s great performance this year is a big reason Arizona holds a Wild Card spot and is just a few games out of first place in the National League West. In 500 at-bats, the 30-year-old has a batting average of .298/.370/.560 (152 wRC+) with 30 home runs. Marte has also posted great walk and strikeout rates and ranks among the league’s best in various contact quality metrics.
SPLASHDOWN #30 KETEL MARTE pic.twitter.com/YmFq7k3KxB
— Goldschmidt Happened (@GoldyHappens) 11 August 2024
The 2024 All-Star has paired his great offense with an excellent defense, including 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 7 Outs Above Average. Given his great overall performance, it’s no surprise that only two players in the National League have more fWAR (5.4) than Marte. Unless the players ahead of him get injured, Marte’s place on the injured list will certainly hurt his chances of winning MVP.
NL MVP candidates with RISP this season
Ketel Marte (126 PA): .337 AVG / 1.025 OPS / 8 HR / 52 RBI / 16K
Shohei Ohtani (124 PA): .250 AVG / .741 OPS / 2 HR / 37 RBI / 24KI say nothing, but……
– Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) 5 August 2024
Marte will join Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno as key Diamondbacks on the injured list during a crucial stretch. Starting next week, Arizona will play 10 straight games against opponents who are within four games of each other in either the Wild Card or division. Although Marte could return as early as the third game of this stretch, there’s a good chance he won’t return until mid-September.
With Marte on the injured list, the Diamondbacks will play with experienced Kevin Newman and interesting but struggling rookie Blaze Alexander. Losing a true MVP candidate would be a major blow to Arizona.
Photo credit: © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
