Ketel Marte nearing return for Arizona Diamondbacks after 1-month absence

Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Ketel Marte could be returning to the team’s lineup by the end of the week after being out for more than a month due to a hamstring injury.

Marte said on Tuesday through a translator that he feels very good and that he expects to be ready in 3-4 days. He confirmed that he’d be ready to face major league pitching as early as Thursday or Friday, as that has been part of his rehab process.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported that Marte could begin a rehab assignment of a game or two as early as Wednesday after running the bases on Tuesday.

Marte said that he has been doing some light running in the past few weeks at 30-40%. He’s been hitting the whole time through his process of getting back and said that running is the biggest issue at the moment.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo was high on the way Marte looked running the bases and catching fly balls on Tuesday.

“He looks fantastic,” Lovullo said. “We gotta gauge how protective he is, where he’s feeling discomfort and start to drum up what the next set of plans will be … The two things I saw him do today, he was very impressive and looked very strong and very comfortable.”

Marte played in the D-backs’ first six games of the season before injuring his right hamstring while running to first base against the Colorado Rockies on April 7. The next day, Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list.

The 27-year-old had a tremendous start to the year, racking up 12 hits and two walks in 28 plate appearances, along with four doubles, two homers and five RBIs. His OPS clocks in at an exceedingly high 1.346.

In Marte’s place in centerfield was Tim Locastro, but he got hurt as well, so the team mixed in Nick Heath, Pavin Smith and Daulton Varsho before Locastro’s return on May 5. Smith got the nod in center on Tuesday.

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