Ketel Marte returns to Diamondbacks lineup with an apology

Ketel Marte returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ lineup Monday after two weeks of uncertainty, but his comeback began with an explanation and an apology.

The Dominican was activated from the injured list before the game against the Philadelphia Phillies and started fourth in the lineup as designated hitter. MLB.com reported that Arizona initially placed him on the restricted list on Aug. 17 after he failed to appear for a game against the Boston Red Sox. The team later moved him to the 10-day injured list after an MRI showed inflammation in his left knee.

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I want to stand in front of my teammates like a man.

Marte said he wants to stand before his teammates and apologize. “I want to stand in front of my teammates like a man,” he said through a translator.

He described the episode as “a moment of frustration” and said he generally keeps personal problems private. “I’m the type of person who, when something is happening in my life, I don’t like to talk about it. So that was more or less what was happening,” he said.

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I’m the type of person who, when something is happening in my life, I don’t like to talk about it. So that was more or less what was happening.

Marte accepted responsibility for the effect on Lovullo, who had said he felt “betrayed” by the player. “I get along very well with Torey and, at that moment, I let him down by not showing up,” Marte said. “That morning I woke up, my body was sore and I simply couldn’t react. Nobody made the decision for me. I was the one who decided not to show up.”

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I get along very well with Torey and, at that moment, I let him down by not showing up.

He also denied reports that he left Boston before the rest of the organization to return to Phoenix for the MRI. “I never left Boston early. The day the team returned to Phoenix, that was the day I returned,” he said.

Before his absence, Marte was batting .249 with 21 home runs and 67 RBIs. He said he now feels “very well” mentally and physically as Arizona pursues a playoff place, although the episode left tensions inside the organization. Chief executive Derrick Hall called it “a complete mystery,” while Lovullo publicly expressed disappointment.

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That morning I woke up, my body was sore and I simply couldn’t react. Nobody made the decision for me. I was the one who decided not to show up.