Ketel Marte will not be traded, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, despite a wave of speculation surrounding the Arizona Diamondbacks' second baseman.
Marte, a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger, has been with Arizona since 2017 and is the franchise’s longest-tenured player. The 32-year-old is batting .246 with a .300 on-base percentage with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs.
Romero reported that there are no issues between Marte and the Diamondbacks and that some of the claims circulating on social media are inaccurate.
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Marte sat out of Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani, who threw six scoreless innings in a 7-0 Dodgers win. He returned to the lineup on Thursday and launched a 431-foot walk-off home run in a 3-2 victory, salvaging a series split, handing the Dodgers their first walk-off loss of the season.
Per Romero, Marte was managing lower-body soreness during his absence, and there is nothing more to be concerned about between him and the team. Manager Torey Lovullo offered a similar account at the time, describing the day off as a precaution tied to lower-back and hamstring tightness and calling it a one-day thing rather than a lingering issue.
The report pushes back on a Sunday column by USA Today's Bob Nightengale, who wrote that Marte continues to frustrate segments of the Diamondbacks organization by taking days off and that Arizona tried to trade him over the winter.
Marte is under contract through 2030, and the Diamondbacks enter the week in playoff position in the NL West. The trade deadline is set for Aug. 3.
