PHOENIX, AZ: With an injured left ankle, second baseman Ketel Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list by the Diamondbacks. Pavin Smith, an outfielder/infielder, has been recalled in response.
For more than a week, Marte has been dealing with an ankle issue. Catcher Garrett Stubbs tried to hustle double last Saturday against the Snakes and slid into second. After taking the throw coming in from left field, Marte attempted to tag Stubbs, but his leg became jammed awkwardly beneath the Philly catcher.
Despite clearly being in pain when he was taken out of the game, Arizona's second baseman has attempted to play through the injury ever since. He started the game on Monday, but he was taken out of it after it seemed like he was hurting again.
After that, he took a few days off, but on Saturday, he made a comeback to the starting lineup as the designated hitter. He didn't start the game yesterday; instead, he came in as a pinch hitter. However, he didn't get through his at-bat since he seemed to worsen his injury on a check swing.
This season, Marte has 30 home runs, a 10.4% walk rate, and a 17.8% strikeout percentage. With a 152 wRC+, his batting line of .298/.370/.560 translates to 52% over league average at the plate. This year, just eleven major league qualifying players have a better mark than that.
In addition, he has six stolen bases and a stellar keystone defensive grade. According to FanGraphs, only six players have more wins above replacement than his 5.4 this season. The only two players in the National League who are ranked higher than him are Francisco Lindor and Shohei Ohtani.
This is obviously a huge blow to the Diamondbacks. Marte has been the mainstay in Arizona for the last eight seasons. He has been through the entire rebuilding process and has turned into the Snakes best producer.
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