D-backs GM: Torey Lovullo returning is ‘not related’ to Ketel Marte’s future

After the Arizona Diamondbacks announced they were retaining manager Torey Lovullo, many wanted to connect dots about what it meant for the future of Ketel Marte.

“Those things are not related one way or another. Those guys, they have a great relationship. They do very well together,” general manager Mike Hazen told Wolf & Luke on Friday. “I understand the questions with Ketel, I totally get it. We haven’t even started digging into the offseason yet. I don’t know where all this is going to go. I do think one of the things that I need to take a hard look at is we failed.

“I need to look at this team that’s been together since 2023 and is this the absolute right mix of players that we have on this roster to take that next level and go forward?” the GM continued. “I do believe there’s some level of continuity that is good for us. It’s stabilized where the floor of our team has been, but we haven’t reached any ceilings since three years ago and that needs to change.”

Marte no-showed ahead of an August series at the Boston Red Sox, and the Diamondbacks (86-76) flummoxed with nine losses in their next 17 games. It was not the first — or even the second or third — time that Marte was absent from his team just over the past four seasons.

It came amid one of his worst seasons with the Diamondbacks, and his .689 OPS over the 23 games that followed the absence (.760 over 118 prior games) didn’t give any indication that it was to his benefit.

Lovullo on Thursday told Burns & Gambo that he would move away from protecting Marte the way he has in the past and that the second baseman would have to answer for his actions himself.

“I’m going to eliminate protecting you the way I have. And I will allow you to go out there and answer the questions on your own behalf instead of me protecting you. I think I would change my tune in that way,” Lovullo said.

“I’ve taken the mindset that whenever anything goes wrong, it’s my fault. And I’m going to protect these players like they’re my own boys. And at a certain point, I can’t do that anymore. So I have to allow them to advocate for themselves in the proper space. That’s what I’ve learned over the past couple of years.”

Hazen said Lovullo is not the same manager he was in 2017, but there won’t be a wholesale change of how he deals with players.

Marte was named an all-star each of the previous two seasons, also receiving NL MVP consideration both years with a top-three finish in 2024.

He raked for Arizona during the 2023 run to the World Series, as he had 10 extra-base hits (two home runs) in 17 games while slashing .329/.380/.534 with a .914 OPS.

“He’s under contract. He’s a 10-and-5 guy, so he’s got control here,” D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall told Bickley & Marotta. “But the reality is he’s one of the best players in baseball. And when he’s locked in, he’s a near-impossible out. And that’s where you want him to be.

“There’s a lot of noise around him, we understand why. He needs to understand it. He needs to understand why there’s a lot of noise around him. I think there’s several changes and conversations with him that would have to be made.”

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