Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is expected to be back on the active roster early next week, according to manager Torey Lovullo.
PHOENIX - Lovullo said Monday that Marte is “on track to come off the 10-day injured list early next week,” adding, “There’s definitely a strategy to getting him back on the field, get him healthy,”
Marte was moved to the injured list last Thursday after first spending three days on the restricted list. That stretch came after he flew with the club to Boston for its series against the Red Sox but did not report to Fenway Park.
The restricted list is used for players who are away from the team for personal or non-baseball reasons. Players remain under contract, though they are not required to be paid, and MLB approval is needed to place someone there.
On Thursday, Marte had an MRI in Phoenix that showed inflammation in his left knee. He had left Arizona’s game against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 14 because of left knee soreness and sat out the next day.
Since then, he has received an injection in the knee and has been rehabbing at Salt River Fields, the club’s spring training complex outside Phoenix. On Monday, Marte posted a video of that rehab on Instagram.
The situation has unfolded in a series of public turns, beginning with Lovullo’s emotional comments in Boston about Marte’s absence. It took another twist Friday, when Marte was seen at a nearby casino while the Diamondbacks were playing a home game.
Before Saturday’s game, Lovullo addressed that moment directly: “It’s not a choice I would make; I’m sure it’s not a choice a lot of people in this room would make,” Lovullo said. “But Ketel is a grown man, and he can make his own decisions.
He did not break any rules, he was fully able to go there and do what he wanted to do. Like I said, he makes his own decisions.”
Arizona has Monday off before returning home for a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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