Ketel Marte left Monday’s win against the Rockies after reaggravating his ankle injury from Saturday. The Diamondbacks sent in their second baseman for an MRI Tuesday, with Jack Sommers of Arizona Diamondbacks on SI reporting that it’s a low grade ankle sprain and there will be no stint on the injured list necessary.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Ketel Marte low grade ankle sprain. Day to day, Torey Lovullo hopeful he’ll be available off the bench tmw.
NO IL#Dbacks
— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) August 14, 2024
Marte remains day-to-day, but could be available to hit off the bench in Wednesday’s series finale. Given Arizona’s strong postseason chances, now well over 90% on both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference, it wouldn’t hurt the team to give Marte a couple extra days to rest the ankle. He suffered the initial injury in a collision with Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs at second base when the latter stretched out a single into a double.
In the 2024 National League’s Most Valuable Player race, Marte is right up there with Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani as two frontrunners for the award. While Ohtani is having a vastly superior season with the bat, the Diamondbacks’ second baseman has been picking up steam due to a hot second-half start and gaining value from playing a defensive position.
Kevin Newman has done an excellent job of filling in as the primary backup at second base. His ability to contribute in all facets of the game, no matter when his number is called, is drawing Craig Counsell comparisons of late. Counsell was a key member of the 2001 World Champion squad, winning the 2001 NLCS MVP along the way.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
