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<\/p>\nThe lingering Ketel Marte no-show saga has taken another strange twist \u2014 this one apparently involving a roulette table.<\/p>\n
Video emerged on social media of the injured Marte gambling at a local casino on Friday night near the team\u2019s complex at Salt River Fields. At the same time, across town at Chase Field, his teammates on the Arizona Diamondbacks continued fighting for a postseason berth without him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s free to do whatever he wants,\u201d manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after Arizona\u2019s 9-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. \u201cThat\u2019s how I look at it. As long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and posts and gets his work done at Salt River, which I am certain he will, that\u2019s all that matters to me right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players on the injured list are generally not required to attend games, Lovullo said, especially since rehab work tends to take place early in the day while most games are played at night. Of course, this has not been a typical time for Marte, who once again became a lightning rod of controversy after the three-time All-Star was a no-show on Monday against the Boston Red Sox.<\/p>\n
Going AWOL triggered a whirlwind week, temporarily landing him on baseball\u2019s restricted list and leading to what seemed like a prolonged period of no contact between the player and the team, which has had ruptures in their relationship in the past.<\/p>\n
Though the reason for Marte\u2019s initial absence remains unknown publicly \u2014 the Diamondbacks were so blindsided by it that he was scratched only minutes before Monday\u2019s game \u2014 the team seemed eager to move on from the fiasco.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, after a lengthy meeting between the player and team officials, the Diamondbacks took Marte off the restricted list. They moved him onto the injured list, a procedural move that seemed to restore some normalcy.<\/p>\n
And before Friday\u2019s game, hours before the casino sighting, Lovullo seemed to strike a conciliatory tone. The manager expressed a desire to move forward with Marte despite acknowledging that he had felt \u201cbetrayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Torey Lovullo has managed the Diamondbacks since 2017, the same year Marte arrived in Arizona. (Chris Coduto \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Lovullo has been particularly emotional throughout the saga, which he referenced again on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hurting,\u201d Lovullo told reporters before the game. \u201cI was clearly hurting. Once I saw what was unfolding, I became extremely frustrated, and I felt betrayed. And that\u2019s a whole different type of pain and frustration. But I\u2019m through that. I\u2019m getting through that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, for all that seeming eagerness to mend the relationship, at least one Diamondbacks player let on about the mood in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us to go where we want to go, we\u2019ve got to have him here,\u201d pitcher Kevin Ginkel said before the game. \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing how the things that happened happened. There\u2019s really no explanation for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Ginkel is right. If Arizona wants to make the postseason, they will need one of their most decorated players to perform.<\/p>\n
Marte has objectively been one of the best to wear a Diamondbacks uniform. According to Baseball-Reference\u2019s Wins Above Replacement, he trails only Randy Johnson and Paul Goldschmidt as the most valuable player in franchise history. And he brings another tool the Diamondbacks hope will be relevant again: postseason pedigree.<\/p>\n
Marte\u2019s performance in the 2023 National League Championship Series was enough to vault the Diamondbacks past the Philadelphia Phillies to secure a pennant and win series MVP honors.<\/p>\n
This season, the switch-hitting Marte is hitting .249\/.314\/.446 with 21 home runs and 67 RBIs. He remains a critical piece for the Diamondbacks, whose playoff hopes remain alive in a competitive National League.<\/p>\n