In most professions, if you miss work due to an unexcused absence you might be fired.
In most professions, if you miss work due to an unexcused absence multiple times, you will definitely be fired.
Baseball is not like most professions.
Example A is Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, who recently missed 13 games due to a still-mostly undisclosed reason.
Marte was listed in Arizona’s starting lineup on Monday, August 17 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, but never showed up to the game. The Diamondbacks scratched Marte when he was still unaccounted for just 15 minutes before the first pitch.
Arizona brass was not even sure Marte was still in Boston when the game began. Marte’s absence likely played a role in the Diamondbacks’ sluggish play that night on multiple levels as they lost, 11-1.
“It’s still a complete mystery,” Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Bickley & Marotta two weeks ago regarding Marte’s absence. “It’s just bizarre. I was on the road with the team. I can tell you Sunday night at the hotel in Boston he appeared just fine, and then was just a no-show. Just bizarre, and we tried to get answers. Honestly, I didn’t even go to the game [that Monday night]. We’ve got a son, and his wife who live in Boston, so I sent them and my wife to the game, and I stayed back in the hotel speaking with [Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen] frequently.”
Diamondbacks brass were still unsure of Marte’s whereabouts on Tuesday, August 18 as Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said that the team was attempting to remain in touch with Marte but that “very little was coming back.”
It wasn’t until Wednesday, August 19 that Marte’s agent made the team aware that Marte had flown back to Phoenix. Marte’s agent cited “personal issues” and the need for an MRI on his knee as the reasoning for his absence.
“Currently managing a personal matter and will be undergoing an MRI on his knee tomorrow,” a statement released by Marte’s camp read. “Ketel appreciates the unwavering support from fans, teammates, the Diamondbacks organization, and Torey Lovullo during this time. He remains optimistic about his recovery and looks forward to returning to the field to contribute to the team as soon as possible.”
Marte was first put on the restricted list but was then moved to the 10-day injured list with “mild inflammation” in his left knee.
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Casino Royale
Just days after no-showing in Boston, Marte was spotted at the Talking Stick Resort, a casino in Scottsdale, Arizona. Video and pictures of Marte at the casino began circulating online during the Diamondbacks’ August 21 game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Lovullo initially said that he did not have a problem with Marte visiting the casino while the Diamondbacks were playing. The Arizona manager said that as long as Marte was getting his rehab work in with the team’s medical staff in the morning that he was free to go about his business.
“When you’re turned loose from the medical team you’re allowed to go home and have an evening with your family. He’s free to do whatever he wants, that’s how I look at it,” Lovullo said. “As long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and gets his work done, which I’m certain he will, that’s all that matters to me right now.”
When pressed on the issue, Lovullo backtracked a bit.
“It’s not a choice I would make,” Lovullo said. “It was not, I’m sure, a choice a lot of people in this room would make. But Ketel’s a grown man, and he can make his own decisions. And he did not break any rules. He was fully able to go [to the casino] and do what he wanted to do.”
The Apology
Marte apologized to Lovullo and his teammates upon his return to the team on Monday, August 31. The three-time All-Star also met with the media and discussed the reasons as to why he went AWOL two weeks earlier.
“In that instance, I failed [Lovullo] by not showing up,” Marte said through an interpreter. “That morning [in Boston] I woke up, my body was in pain and I just couldn’t react. No one made the decision for me. I’m the one who made the decision to not show up.”
Marte said that his teammates were forgiving regarding his absence.
“Thank god they accepted my apology,” Marte said. “The most important thing is for me to help them out. The most important thing is for me to stay healthy so I can help this team.”
A Recurring Theme
This is the third season in a row in which Marte has ruffled feathers due to an unexplained absence.
During the final week of the 2024 season, and with the Diamondbacks battling for a playoff berth, Marte told Lovullo that he needed to rest ahead of a crucial game against the San Francisco Giants.
Lovullo granted Marte’s wish, and Arizona wound up losing to San Francisco, 6-3. The D-Backs lost five of their final seven games that season, and ultimately missed the playoffs after losing out on a three-way tiebreaker with the Braves and Mets.
Last year, Marte went home to his native Dominican Republic following his appearance in the MLB All-Star Game. He had told the club that he would be return prior to the start of the second half of the regular season.
Marte’s house in Phoenix was burglarized during the All-Star Game and Marte said that $400,000 worth of property was stolen.
He said that he was emotionally distraught because of the burglary, and he missed the team’s first three games of the second half.
“Initially, the intent was to come back on Thursday [for a workout ahead of the start of the second half] and be with my team and practice,” Marte said. “I want to publicly apologize for not backing that up. I mean, obviously due to the circumstance of my situation, I got frustrated and was in a bad spot. But I truly want to apologize to my teammates and everybody else that is supporting the team.”
The Arizona Republic published a story in August of 2025 that claimed some of Marte’s Diamondbacks teammates were irritated by the amount of games that Marte asked to skip.
“In my opinion, it’s something needed,” Marte said about the amount of rest days he receives. “I don’t think that it’s too many days off. I’ve had injuries in the past, and this is a plan that has been integrated with the coaching staff and myself, in order to keep me on the field the longest.”
The Backlash
Prior to his return game on August 31, Marte was asked by the media if he had any message to the Diamondbacks fans.
Marte shook his head, no.
He was then roundly booed by the Chase Field crowd, during the starting lineups and particularly during his second inning at-bat.
After the game, Marte said that he had misunderstood the pre-game question regarding the fans.
“Going back to the press conference, when the question was made to me, I didn’t really quite understand the word that was used at that moment,” Marte said. “I’m never going to stop loving my fans, and that’s what I want them to understand.”
The D-Backs lost Marte’s return game Monday night to the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. The next night they again fell to Philly, 7-1.
Marte was given an off-day Wednesday, which the Diamondbacks says was planned. Without Marte in the lineup, the D-Backs beat the Phillies, 1-0.
The Diamondbacks are clinging to the final Wild Card slot in the National League, up just a half game to the San Diego Padres, with less than a month of the regular season to go.
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