Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte’s strange week took another turn on Friday.
Marte began his week by failing to show up to Fenway Park for the team’s game against the Boston Red Sox on Monday and was scratched from the lineup minutes before first pitch. He was then placed on the restricted list and seemingly had no contact with the team until Thursday.
On Thursday, Marte and team officials reportedly had a lengthy meeting, after which the Diamondbacks placed the 32-year-old on the injured list with left knee inflammation.
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On Friday, while the Diamondbacks were playing the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field, Marte was spotted by fans gambling at Talking Stick Resort, a casino. In one video, Marte is shown at the tables while the Reds-Diamondbacks game was on a TV nearby.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was asked about Marte’s casino run after the team’s 9-0 win.
“He’s free to do whatever he wants,” Lovullo told reporters postgame. “That’s how I look at it. As long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and posts, and gets his work done at Salt River, which I am certain he will, that’s all that matters to me right now.”
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The reason for Marte’s absence is not yet known publicly. The Diamondbacks are one game back of the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card spot in the National League and will be forced to battle without Marte for the foreseeable future.
Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel said there is no explanation for what is going on with Marte.
“For us to go where we want to go, we’ve got to have him here,” Ginkel said before the game, according to The Athletic.
“It’s disappointing how the things that happened happened. There’s really no explanation for it.”
Marte, who has spent the last 10 seasons with the Diamondbacks and is one of the best players in franchise history, is a key cog in the team’s lineup. In 118 games this year, he has a .249 batting average with 21 home runs and 67 RBIs.
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The Diamondbacks (68-61) will look to continue their postseason push when they play the Reds (61-68) in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday at 8:10 p.m. ET.
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