Vet move: D-backs INF Ketel Marte dekes baserunner to steal an out

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte found a way to make the larger bags look small by fooling a baserunner during a spring training game on Saturday.

In the first inning at Salt River Fields, Tim Lopes of the San Diego Padres took off on a 3-2 count and stole second. D-backs RHP Brandon Pfaadt picked up the punch out, but Marte secured essentially a double play by fooling Lopes into thinking the throw from catcher Carson Kelly went into center field.

Lopes lifted his foot off the base for a second, and Marte applied the tag. The veteran infielder had quite the smile on his face.

Ketel Marte with a smooth fake out 😂 pic.twitter.com/WfUP2hSuqw

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 4, 2023

The bases are 18 inches wide compared to 15 inches in the past, but baserunning blunders are far from extinct.

Marte is coming off a down season defensively at -6 defensive runs saved at second base, but he has looked faster this spring. Manager Torey Lovullo has said multiple times he expects a bounce back.

The D-backs played split-squad action Saturday with the home team against San Diego and the away squad at the San Francisco Giants.

With so much baseball, there were other wacky moments beyond Marte’s trickery.

In the fifth inning against the Padres, D-backs prospect Adrian Del Castillo — without batting gloves — took a hack at a fastball, and his bat went flying.

It got stuck high up on the netting near the Padres dugout, right above the San Diego coaching staff. Del Castillo flew out to end the at-bat, although he later drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

📂 Things you don’t see every day
↪️ This pic.twitter.com/VOHwVVkypB

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 4, 2023

Meanwhile, a pair of top youngster had big days.

Pfaadt, Arizona’s No. 4 prospect on MLB Pipeline, tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a walk. He’s up to five shutout frames this spring.

Brandon Pfaadt is laying goose eggs.

The No. 4 @Dbacks prospect posted his second straight scoreless Cactus League outing — fanning four. pic.twitter.com/iXNXieDYB6

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 4, 2023

Infielder Deyvison De Los Santos against the Giants hit an opposite-field, go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning. He is the No. 6 ranked prospect in the organization.

Arizona defeated the Giants 9-5 and fell to San Diego 5-4.

The D-backs take on the Cleveland Guardians Sunday at 1:05 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 FM HD-2.

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