Torey Lovullo is bothered by the Ketel Marte narrative: ‘Nothing is wrong in our clubhouse’

Torey Lovullo does not want to pull at the fabric of the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse and wants to put the Ketel Marte rest storyline to bed.

The manager addressed the issue with reporters on Tuesday after USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday that Marte continues to frustrate segments within the Diamondbacks organization for taking days off.

“What I ask that stops is that theme that something is wrong in our clubhouse or something is not right in our clubhouse because Ketel Marte,” Lovullo told reporters on Tuesday. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s been a great teammate, a great human being, a great husband, a great father and he happens to be one of the best players in the National League. That’s what I’m focused on.”

Marte missed the Diamondbacks’ game against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday but returned to the lineup the following day and hit a walk-off home run.

Marte is on pace to play in 152 games this season, the most he’s played in since 2018 (153).

“He’s gonna help us win baseball games. He’s gonna help us get to where we’re gonna get to. It’s just one of those things where it’s spinning away from us, and I want to make sure I address it and defend the player because I believe in the player and I know the player, and I know where his heart is, and it’s about being a good teammate and winning baseball games,” Lovullo continued.

Marte has played in 61 of the Diamondbacks’ 65 games this season and is just one game behind Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo for the most within the organization (62 games).

The second baseman in his 10th season with the Diamondbacks has been among the best in his position in the National League this season.

But after playing in 150 games in 2023, the three-time All-Star first came under scrutiny in 2024 after missing a key game late in the season as the Diamondbacks were hunting for a playoff berth.

Marte has played in 136 and 126 games the last two seasons and had reportedly rubbed his teammates the wrong way with occasional time-off asks at inopportune times, such as his three-game absence against the St. Louis Cardinals immediately after the All-Star break last season.

Following the All-Star break, Marte was placed on the restricted list after his Phoenix-area house was robbed of what he said was more than $400,000 in items. But Marte’s time off reportedly had nothing to do with the robbery, Arizona Sports’ Dan Bickley said at the time on Bickley & Marotta.

After Marte returned to the team, he apologized and the Diamondbacks decided to keep him after considering trades in the offseason.

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