Reports: Ketel Marte going back to Arizona for MRI after Fenway Park no-show

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte has been sent back to Phoenix to undergo an MRI on his knee after he did not show up to the club’s game at Fenway Park on Monday, AZCentral.com’s Nick Piecoro and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reported on Tuesday.

Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters postgame on Monday that he heard something was going on with Marte on Monday morning, but he expected his second baseman to report to the ballpark. Lovullo called it a personal matter for Marte.

Why Marte did not communicate that he was not going to arrive at Fenway Park remains unclear.

Marte left Friday’s game in Atlanta with left knee soreness and did not play on Saturday. He returned to the lineup on Sunday and was expected to start on Monday.

With Marte absent, the D-backs had to turn to contingency plans, recalling Jose Fernandez from Triple-A Reno, placing Marte on the restricted list and adjusting the starting lineup, which did not get out until right before first pitch. Arizona lost the game, 11-1.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported after the game Monday that the club believed Marte was still possibly at the team hotel but was ultimately unsure of his whereabouts. He had been seen at the hotel bar with a group of people around 11 p.m. Sunday night.

D-backs GM Mike Hazen spoke with Piecoro later on Monday evening and said that Marte was still in Boston, while Arizona was not sure when Marte would rejoin the team.

The Diamondbacks will return to Chase Field after their Red Sox series finale on Wednesday, and their homestand starts on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Marte has been on the restricted list in back-to-back seasons, both of which involved a lack of communication. The Diamondbacks put him on the list out of the All-Star break in 2025 when he traveled to the Dominican Republic after the All-Star Game and before his house was burglarized without alerting the team, Gambadoro has reported. Marte missed the first series of the second half, and his missed games became a talking point as members of the organization aired grievances to the media.

All of this is going down while the Diamondbacks are fighting for postseason positioning in the second half of August, as they entered Tuesday one game back of the third National League Wild Card spot.

Marte has had an up-and-down season, especially for his high standards as a three-time All-Star, but he is Arizona’s hits (117), home runs (21) and RBIs (67) leader.

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