The Arizona Diamondbacks placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list on Monday due to a sprained left ankle. Marte initially hurt his ankle over a week ago in a collision with a baserunner at second base. He immediately left the game in obvious pain and missed a few games last week.
Marte tried to play through the ankle sprain, but it became clear he needed rest when he aggravated it during 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 moves. pic.twitter.com/www2uDZ0TN
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 19, 2024
Diamondbacks Place Ketel Marte on Injured List with Ankle Sprain
Marte’s great performance this year is a big reason why Arizona sits in a Wild Card spot and only a few games out of first place in the National League West. In 5o0 plate-appearances, the 30-year-old is hitting .298/.370/.560 (152 wRC+) with 30 homers. Marte has also produced great walk and strikeout rates while ranking among the league’s best in various quality of contact metrics.
SPLASHDOWN #30 KETEL MARTE pic.twitter.com/YmFq7k3KxB
— Goldschmidt Happened (@GoldyHappens) August 11, 2024
The 2024 All-Star has paired his great offense with excellent defense, including 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 7 Outs Above Average. Considering his great all-around performance, it’s no surprise that only two players have more fWAR (5.4) than Marte in the National League. Unless the players ahead of him get hurt, Marte heading to the injured list will surely hurt his chances at 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’m not saying anything, but……
— Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) August 5, 2024
Marte will join Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno as important Diamondbacks on the injured list during a crucial stretch. Starting next week, Arizona will play 10 straight games against opponents within four games of them in either the Wild Card or division. While Marte could return as early as the third game in that stretch, there’s a good chance he won’t return until mid-September.
With Marte on the injured list, the Diamondbacks will play glove-first veteran Kevin Newman and intriguing but struggling rookie Blaze Alexander. Losing a legitimate MVP candidate will be nothing short of a big blow for Arizona.
Photo Credit: © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
