The Arizona Diamondbacks placed second baseman Ketel Marte on the restricted list just before game time on Monday after waiting until just eight minutes before the game to post their lineup. Marte arrived with the team in Boston to face the Red Sox, according to The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro, but he didn't show up to the ballpark on Monday — leading to his placement on the restricted list. The restricted list is a special roster designation which teams use for players who are away to personal, unexcused or non-baseball reasons.
Players on the restricted list don't receive pay nor service time while on the list, and there is no set limit for time spent on the restricted list. In a corresponding move to Marte's move to the restricted list, the Diamondbacks recalled infielder Jose Fernandez from Triple-A Reno and placed him in the lineup to bat seventh while playing third base. The Diamondbacks are yet to reveal any further details about the situation.
Marte, while not producing at the same level he has over the past few years with the Diamondbacks, is still producing at an above average level this season. The second baseman got off to a slow start, but still has 21 homers and 67 RBIs on the year with a .760 OPS. The two-time Silver Slugger winner has been incredibly important to the Diamondbacks for the past several seasons, posting an above average OPS+ over the course of the past five seasons, and he has also been a valuable glove for the club this year.
Marte has played each of the past 10 MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks after making a move from the Seattle Mariners, and has hit 189 home runs during his stay in Phoenix. He has earned three All-Star appearances during his Diamondbacks tenure, leading them to the World Series in 2023 while winning the NLCS MVP award that season. Marte isn't away from the team for injury reasons, per Piecoro, so the time he spends away from the team is entirely up to the himself or the Diamondbacks going forward, depending on the nature of his absence.
If he is to return as soon as possible, though, the Diamondbacks could activate him before Tuesday's game.
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