Ketel Marte Out Of Diamondbacks Lineup vs Braves After Injury Concern

The Diamondbacks' All-Star second baseman isn't in Saturday's lineup.

Aug 8, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) prepares to bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a bit of a scare on Friday night. Despite a gritty 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves to open a three-game series, star second baseman Ketel Marte exited after just one inning due to what is being described as right knee soreness.

Marte has been dealing with that issue for some time, according to manager Torey Lovullo, who addressed the removal postgame. Marte was considered day-to-day at the time.

But the All-Star infielder will not be present in the Diamondbacks' game two lineup against righty Grant Holmes and the Braves. It is not entirely clear as of this writing whether this is indicative of a more serious issue, or if Marte is simply getting a rest day to help him return to 100%.

"It's been something that's been bothering him for a couple of days since the Padres series. He's been trying to gut it out," Lovullo said, speaking to Jody Jackson of D-backs.TV.

"He moved to his left and it just got to be a little bit too much for him. So he'll be day-to-day. We'll evaluate him tomorrow and see when he can play as soon as possible."

Ketel Marte out of Diamondbacks lineup Saturday

Aug 11, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte (4) throws across the infield in the ninth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Here's what the D-backs' lineup looks like for Saturday evening's 4:15 p.m. (Arizona time) first pitch:

1. DH Lars Nootbar
2. RF Corbin Carrolll
3. SS Geraldo Perdomo
4. C Gabriel Moreno
5. LF Max Kepler
6. 3B Nolan Arenado
7. 1B Tim Tawa
8. 2B Ildemaro Vargas
9. CF Ryan Waldschmidt

As was the case in Friday's game, veteran utility infielder Ildemaro Vargas will be the one taking Marte's place at second. That forces Tim Tawa — who hit a crucial solo home run in the ninth inning on Friday — back to the first base slot.

Marte's absence may not look like a massive detriment on paper, given the fact that he's been hitting to a less-than-incredible .763 OPS. But he was showing signs of heating up, and to lose a bat (and glove) of his caliber could be a much more significant blow if he's forced to miss a larger portion of time.

Arizona needs more from its offense in general — particularly with regard to situational hitting. They've survived off some excellent pitching performances of late, but need to start putting up runs at a more consistent clip as the postseason race begins to heat up down the stretch of the 2026 regular season.