Ketel Marte, who abandoned the Arizona Diamondbacks two weeks ago and has yet to show his face at Chase Field, is expected to walk through the clubhouse Monday, apologize to his teammates, address the media and then try to save the team's season.
He has embarrassed the organization, infuriated a faction of the clubhouse, damaged the credibility of the front office and manager Torey Lovullo. Yet, he has has the ultimate power.
If Marte performs well, and the D-backs earn a playoff berth, he could save Lovullo’s job and spare Mike Hazen, president of baseball operations.
If he struggles, the D-backs miss the postseason again for the eighth time in nine years, no one is safe.
Marte has that kind of power, thanks to the Diamondbacks enabling him over the years.
Now, their careers may depend on him.
The Diamondbacks could have stopped Marte’s behavior years ago, but always looked the other way. They could have traded him last winter and several times in the past, but instead gave him two contract extensions, believing that would change things.
He instead has made the Diamondbacks look like puppets.
Show up when you want. Bring your buddies on the road. Agitate hotel security. Frustrate teammates with your buddies eating alongside them in the clubhouse dining room. And play when you desire.
It’s the Marte Rules.
One rule for him, one for the 25 other players.
“I’ve never seen anything like it," one Diamondback player told USA TODAY Sports.
If you’re not going to discipline Marte, how are you going to fine any player who shows up late for a team meeting? If you want to jog to first base instead of running out ground balls, how can you be pulled out of the game? You want to take a day off when you’re perfectly healthy, who can stop you?
The Diamondbacks believe that if they retaliate against Marte, or discipline him beyond brief stints on the restricted list when he went AWOL each of the past two years, they will lose him.
So, they instead choose to coddle him, indulge him, and tell the world how much they love him.
“One of the things that makes Ketel such an extraordinary player," Lovullo said, “is that he goes to the beat of his own drum."
Well, by sitting back and letting him carry him on, Marte has ravaged the organization’s image and reputation, and with 10-and-5 rights, he now has the ultimate control.
The Diamondbacks can’t even trade him now without his permission.
He’s scheduled to return Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field, and all eyes in baseball will be watching the drama, curious to see if the D-backs just act like all is forgiven.
Former D-backs pitcher Greg Swindell tweeted last week: “D-backs should not put up with what’s going on with Marte ... D-backs should not allow him back."
Oh, he’ll be back, and likely carrying on like nothing happened when he returns.
He’s got the power, and we’ll now see if the Diamondbacks continue to stand by, acting helpless to stop it.
Around the basepaths
– Several team officials say they have been advised that the Major League portion of the winter meetings in December in San Diego likely will be canceled, but MLB said that no decision has been made. There won’t be an official announcement unless there’s a lockout, just like in 2021.
– While no one knows the future of the 2027 season, one owner, one club president and one veteran player each predicted this week that the season will likely open in May, with the real bargaining on key economic issues happening when paychecks are missed in April.
– Former Houston Astros GM James Click, vice president of baseball strategy with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2023, has emerged as a serious candidate for the Athletics GM opening.
– While Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch still is beloved in the Houston Astros organization and has a strong relationship with owner Jim Crane, he has no interest at this time of filling their GM vacancy. He received a contract extension from the Tigers at the end of last season and wants to remain in the role.
The Astros are expected to hire a GM with a strong analytics background.
– Chad Tracy may be the interim Boton Red Sox manager, but that job could become permanent once the season ends. He took a team that was going nowhere and morphed into a powerful playoff contender that will be a force in October.
The Red Sox also realize that if they wait too long before extending him, he’ll be the hottest managerial free agent – behind only his predecessor, Alex Cora.
– No one has ever won three consecutive Manager of the Year awards, but Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers could change that.
The Brewers, who were predicted to win 84 games this year by MLB-sponsored gambling sites, once again have the majors' best record and are on pace to win a franchise-record 100. Murphy, 67, is baseball’s toughest disciplinarian, unafraid to yank players in the middle of the game, in the middle of counts, or call out players in the media.
He removed rookie Cooper Pratt for lack of hustle last week in his latest example of discipline, and is why the Brewers have the utmost respect across the game.
“We have a standard and an agreement for how we play here,’’ Brewers veteran Christian Yelich told reporters. “We all know it … You have to be a certain kind of player to play for Murph and to play here. You have to be mentally tough and physically tough."
Says Murphy: “I’m not trying to be Johnny Hardass … If you’re trying to accomplish something difficult, there’s going to be pain, there’s going to be sacrifice, and there’s certainly going to be disagreement. You got to do your best to put standards that are believable, are authentic, and are best for the player."
– The only question now for Atlanta ace Chris Sale is what cap he wears in Cooperstown with the way he keeps pitching, going 13-9 with a 2.06 ERA, and giving Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski a run for the NL Cy Young award.
Sale, at 37 years and 150 days, became the sixth pitcher since 1900 at that age or older to pitch a shutout with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in his 1-0, 11-strikeout gem against the Dodgers. The last to do it was Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2004.
– The Chicago White have been living in the penthouse of the AL Central most of the season, but that object that's larger than it appears is the Cleveland Guardians.
The Guardians’ .605 winning percentage in September/October since 2013 is the best in the American League, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
– Hard to believe that Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, in his first full season, tied the franchise record for most starts of permitting one or no runs in a game, last accomplished by Ron Guidry in 1978.
He also may be joining Guidry as a Cy Young award winner, and is no worse than a co-favorite to win the award with Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease.
– The San Francisco Giants were 2,208-0 in their history when leading by six or more runs in the ninth inning before playing the Cincinnati Reds.
They are now 2,208-1.
They have now lost 11 games with a lead in the ninth, the most in MLB.
– Brewers starter Logan Henderson, who walks barefoot in the outfield grass and takes a visit to the mound in the afternoon before his starts, may have started a new trend.
The dude has now gone 19 career starts without permitting more than three runs, tying Zack Greinke for the longest streak to begin a career in MLB history. He’s 12-2 with a 2.30 ERA during the streak, with the Brewers going 16-3 in the 19 games.
“It grounds me,’’ he tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of his barefoot walks. “There’s a lot of emotions you feel.’’
– Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper is having his finest month since arriving to Philadelphia. He entered Saturday night with a .496 on-base percentage, reaching base in a career-long 30 consecutive games. He has drawn 28 walks while still hitting .329 with a .577 slugging percentage and 1.072 OPS in August.
– MLB, seeking a free-agent signing window in December to drum interest at the winter meetings, insists that November signings are rare, anyway. There was only one free-agent signing among the 137 free agents last November.
If players don’t sign in December, they would be required to wait until February.
Bruce Meyer, interim executive director of the players union, said the proposal would create “an artificial free agency window … which would reduce player leverage and create a game of musical chairs pitting player vs. player.”
– Walker Jenkins, the Minnesota Twins’ top prospect who made his major-league debut Friday, has almost a mythical work ethic.
When Jenkins traveled to Fort Myers, Florida, after his introductory press conference at Target Field in 2023, he asked if he could take swings once he arrived at the team’s spring training facility.
It was after midnight.
He hit for 45 minutes.
“I don’t think there is anybody who is going to go out there and love the game more than I am, and have more fun doing it,” Jenkins told the Minnesota Star-Tribune. “When you love something, you want to be the best at it.”
– San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish, who forfeited his $15 million this season when he voluntarily went on the restricted list, has begun throwing bullpen sessions to see if he can return in 2027.
He still has two years and $30 million remaining on his contract.
– Teams will try once again to pry ace Sandy Alcantara from the Miami Marlins this winter. He has been sensational of late, yielding a 1.99 ERA since July 4, pitching at least six innings in all 10 starts.
– The Marlins owe a debt of gratitude to Derek Jeter, who traded Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins to the Yankees in December, 2017, saving the franchise $265 million.
Stanton played in 158 games his first year with the Yankees, hitting 38 homers with 100 RBI, but will have missed 588 games in the past eight seasons once this year ends.
– One of the top free-agent signings of the year belongs to the San Diego Padres, who grabbed first baseman Ty France for just $1.35 million on a minor-league deal this spring. He is hitting .321 with 12 homers and a .958 OPS since becoming their everyday first baseman, fourth-best in the big leagues.
– Tough year for Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan, who was acquired from the Cardinals last winter.
He has gone on the injured list three times, the latest when a staff member hit Donovan in the head during batting practice, sending him to the seven-day concussion list. He was not wearing a helmet.
“He’s had kind of a year from hell in a lot of ways,’’ Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters.
– The Chicago Cubs sure know how to throw reunion parties, with the latest Saturday commemorating their 150th anniversary as a National League franchise.
They announced their all-Cubs’ team with more than 20 players in attendance, including Sammy Sosa, had the dedication of a Founders’ Clock at the corner of Clark and Addison, inducted Jon Lester, Jody Davis and former broadcaster Vince Lloyd into their Hall of Fame and even sold Budweiser beer for a couple of innings for just $1.50.
– The Seattle Mariners, one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this year, entered Saturday seven games below .500.
Yet, miraculously, they are only four games out of first place in the woeful AL West.
And they play 13 of their final 15 games against the Angels, Athletics, and Rockies.
Remember a year ago, they reeled off a 17-1 stretch to win the AL West.
– The Baltimore Orioles likely will be sitting home in October, but don’t blame first baseman Pete Alonso. He has been everything they hoped for, and more. Alonso entered Saturday hitting .272 with 31 homers and 91 RBI this season, including a blistering 358 with nine homers, 22 RBI and a 1.093 OPS in the month of August.
– Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, has a chance to go where only two players have gone in baseball history.
Stewart could join Ted Williams (1939) and Walt Dropo (1950) as the only rookies to lead their league in runs batted in, racking up 103 with 30 homers entering Sunday.
– There’s not a more dangerous team in the major leagues with two outs in the ninth inning than those Philadelphia Phillies.
Edmundo Sosa’s game-winning grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning Friday against the Angels was their fourth go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth this season.
No team has hit even three, with Sosa’s pinch-hit slam with two outs in the ninth inning the first since Ozzie Virgil in 1983.
– It was at 12:45 p.m. Friday that a baseball miracle occurred.
The Tampa Bay Rays will finally have a new home.
The Hillsborough County Commission approved the funding for a $2.3 billion ballpark in Tampa for the Rays that is scheduled to open in 2029.
Finally, the drama is over.
The Rays aren’t going to Montreal, Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville or Orlando.
They finally have a home.
And now that the Rays' and Athletics’ stadium woes are finally resolved, look for expansion coming in 2032, with Salt Lake City and Nashville still the heavy favorites.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nightengale's Notebook: Ketel Marte going AWOL has D'backs teammates fuming
