D-backs' Torey Lovullo Bluntly Addresses Ketel Marte Situation

The Arizona Diamondbacks' manager addressed the recent story involving Ketel Marte.

Jul 13, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) congratulates Arizona Diamondbacks second base Ketel Marte (4) on his selection to the MLB All-Star game prior the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

On Thursday, a report from AZCentral's Nick Piecoro came out surrounding Arizona Diamondbacks' All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte.

Teammates and others in the D-backs' organization have been reportedly frustrated with Marte taking days off.

Related Content: Diamondbacks Reportedly Frustrated with Ketel Marte

Torey Lovullo is a manager who's known for having his players' backs. In fact, Lovullo has already defended Marte on national radio.

On Friday afternoon, Lovullo sat down with Arizona Sports 98.7's Burns & Gambo for his weekly local radio appearance, addressing the Marte situation at length.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Addresses Ketel Marte Situation

Lovullo was asked if he treats Marte in a different manner than his other players.

"It's almost like parenting," Lovullo said.

"People who say that they treat their kids all the same, they're lying. You try to get the best version of each child and that requires different strategies.

"The body doesn't always function the right way, and sometimes we've got to listen to what he says and do what's best for him, which in turn will give us the best results for his production," Lovullo said.

Certainly, a player with injury history like Marte is not one that should be put in harm's way unnecessarily — both for his own good and the good of the team. Lovullo said those health-related days off don't mean Marte doesn't want to be on the field.

"I will say that Ketel Marte has a massive heart. He is extremely emotional. He loves to play. He wants to be in the middle of everything with his teammates every single day," Lovullo said.

This story is not brand-new, but the frustration was reportedly exacerbated by Marte's absence following the All-Star Break.

Marte took three games off out of the break following a burglary of his home, but it was later revealed he had traveled to the Dominican Republic, rather than back to Arizona with his teammates — Marte did not find out about the burglary until after his departure.

Lovullo revealed he found out Marte would be unavailable the day of the first game the All-Star missed.

"I was unaware of the timing of the break-in. I was unaware of what the intentions were, what plane he was on. I just became aware of him not being ready to play a baseball game on the morning afternoon of our first baseball game," Lovullo said.

"At that point, we were dealing with a highly emotional situation. Details were trickling in piece by piece and minute by minute, and I was unsure of how to answer a lot of the questions that were being thrown at me by [the media], by the team.

"It was one of those situations where there was a lot of unknown. And I was trying to be as honest as possible with the information that was happening. So to be honest with you, no, I was not aware," the skipper said.

Lovullo said he does not feel as if the issue is one that should be addressed to the entire clubhouse.

"I'll continue to take temperature of what's going on. I don't want to get in the way of this team going out and performing the way that it is. ... if I feel like I need to, I will. But at this point, I don't feel like I need to make any more comments about it.

"At the end of the day, all I do is care about these players on every level and going out and winning baseball games. That's all I want to do. And that's all the players want to do," Lovullo said.