The Arizona Diamondbacks star second baseman Ketel Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle, the team announced this news on Monday.
Pavin Smith, first baseman/outfielder, has been recalled from Triple-A to manage the team.
Marte suffered an injury to the ankle against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 10 when he collided with Garrett Stubbs during a play at second base. After that, he would tweak the ankle on two separate occasions. This ultimately led Arizona to keep him on the IL on Monday.
He has been one of the best players in all of baseball this season. Across 116 games, he’s batted .298/.370/.560 (157 OPS+) with 30 home runs. These stats do not count his stellar defense at second base. With all these exploits, he is in the running for National League MVP honors. So, this looks like a significant loss for the NL champions.
Right now, the Diamondbacks are at 69-56 in the second wild-card position in the NL. They trail the San Diego Padres by just one game, San Diego is the owner of the NL wild-card slot.
For Arizona, the NL West title is also not out of the question as the third-place D-backs lag the first Dodgers by just four games. So, the loss of Marte is a big setback for them as it diminishes their hope for the NL.
Kevin Newman is supposed to replace Marte during his absence from the roster as the primary second baseman.
