Ketel Marte is moving closer to a return, and the Diamondbacks sound prepared to welcome him back as soon as next week.
Manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that the star second baseman is on track to be activated off the 10-day injured list early next week. Marte has already been cleared to take batting practice, putting him in position to potentially return for next Tuesday’s series opener at home against the Phillies.
“There’s definitely a strategy to getting him back on the field, get him healthy, continue to get that build-up,” Lovullo said.
“If it’s possible to get him ready for Philly, we would definitely take the at-bats.”
Marte, 32, landed on the injured list Thursday, Aug. 20, because of left knee inflammation. His path there had already been messy. He was initially placed on the restricted list at the start of last week after missing the series opener at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, with the absence first described as a “personal issue.”
An MRI later showed the knee inflammation. Marte had already sat out the Aug. 15 game with knee soreness before returning Aug. 16 and playing second base.
Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen met with Marte and his agent on Thursday, the day Marte went on the IL, in what was described as a “very productive meeting. ” Lovullo said Monday he has not spoken with Marte since.
Marte also showed up on social media at Talking Stick Casino in Scottsdale during the Diamondbacks’ home win Friday night over the Reds. Lovullo made clear Saturday that while Marte was not violating team rules or doing anything illegal, since rehabbing players are not required to attend games, it was still “not a choice [he] would make.”
Asked Monday whether it gets harder for Marte to address his teammates the longer he is away, Lovullo kept the focus on giving him room to come back on his own terms.
“We’re trying to create the softest space for him to re-emerge back into this environment,” Lovullo said. “That’s up to him, however he wants to do it. I cannot force a human being to do something that I want to do, or anybody in this room wants to do, or a fan wants to do.”
The Diamondbacks dropped Monday’s game 7-0 to the Cubs and now sit two games behind the Padres for the third National League Wild Card spot. Marte’s return would give Arizona a needed lift in that chase.
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