Did Diamondbacks DFA Ketel Marte? Explaining odd situation with D-Backs All-Star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Arizona Diamondbacks are facing off against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night for a big series after dropping one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card race. But they began the series without Ketel Marte, who the Diamondbacks announced went onto the restricted list under 10 minutes before game time. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic also reports Marte is "ok physically; he just didn't show up to the ballpark." Things took a much more bizarre turn when MLB insider Hector Gomez for @z101digital reported that the Diamondbacks actually designated Marte for assignment. That would be stunning, but did it actually happen, and what is actually going on with Marte up in Boston? What happened with Ketel Marte? D-Backs place All-Star on restricted list, rumored to be DFA'd "BREAKING: The Arizona Diamondbacks designate second base star Ketel Marte for assignment (DFA). @z101digital," Gomez reported Monday night. It's a bombshell report from Gomez that, if true, would be a truly stunning turn of events for the Diamondbacks. Marte is such an important part of this team, and yet the D-Backs might've just designated him for assignment. Piecoro reported that Marte showed up in Boston with the rest of the team, but then didn't show up at Fenway Park for the Monday night matchup. "The club hoped until shortly before game time that he was going to show up to the park," Piecoro reports. "He had been expected to serve as the designated hitter for tonight's game." MORE: Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll joins only Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in wild MLB history This season in 469 at-bats, Marte has 21 homers with a .249 batting average, 1.8 bWAR, and a .760 OPS with a 107 OPS+. There is zero reason for the Diamondbacks to DFA him, unless something stunning happened. But since Marte didn't show up to the ballpark, despite being "ok physically" according to Piecoro, there is some real uncertainty about Marte at the moment. So, did the Diamondbacks actually DFA Marte? This is still only a rumor at the moment, and there's a lot of uncertainty about what actually happened with Marte. But if Gomez's report is true and the Diamondbacks did just DFA Marte, it's going to be a massive turning point for the franchise, Marte, and the team's hunt for the postseason. More MLB news:
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