The drama between the Arizona Diamondbacks and All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte has been well-documented and stems from the veteran slugger skipping a contest against the Boston Red Sox earlier this month.
Marte didn't show up at Fenway Park and the Diamondbacks had to play without him. Arizona placed him on the restricted list and then he was placed on the Injured List. On Monday, Marte was set to return and bat fourth for Arizona. The Diamondbacks currently hold a Wild Card spot and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Arguably, that's the biggest reason why Marte is returning this season in the first place.
It's been national news for weeks now that Marte skipped the contest. You don't see things like this often. But he's now back and on Monday he broke his silence. Marte was asked what happened in Boston. He called it a moment of "frustration."
"A moment of frustration. I'm the type of person that when something's going on in my life, I don't like to talk about it, so that's kind of what was going on," Marte said.
Then, he was asked if it was frustration with an injury, or manager Torey Lovullo.
"I get along really well with Torey, and in that instance I failed him by not showing up. That morning I woke up, my body was in pain... No one made the decision for me, I'm the one that made the decision to not show up," Marte continued.
On top of this, Marte was asked if he had a message for the fans. He shook his head and said no.
Here are the first couple answers from Ketel Marte on why he didn’t show up to Fenway Park.
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) August 31, 2026
He had not yet spoken to his team when he addressed the media. When asked whether he had a message for the fans, he said no. pic.twitter.com/68t6U04JBG
A weird chapter for the 2026 Diamondbacks, to say the least.