With a couple of hours remaining before first pitch, the Arizona Diamondbacks have scratched second baseman Ketel Marte from the lineup on Friday against the Minnesota Twins.
Marte was initially scheduled to start at second base as per usual but has now been removed for Ildemaro Vargas. The reason for the scratch hasn’t yet been announced, however, it might potentially be related to right foot contusion suffered Wednesday which caused him to leave that game early.
During that contest, Marte fouled a ball off his own foot and headed to the clubhouse early. Per MLB.com, X-rays didn’t reveal any significant damage after the game and manager Torey Lovullo said he’d “pencil him in right now to start at second base in Minnesota.” With that said, Friday’s lineup scratch comes as a bit of a surprise.
Marte is enjoying a standout campaign with a .281/.381/.511 slash line to go along with 119 hits, 79 runs, 65 RBI and 25 home runs on the stat sheet over his 113 games. He’s a huge part of a Diamondbacks squad still fighting to keep their season alive.
The D-backs are 73-74 ahead of this series against the Twins and remain just three games shy of the final NL Wild Card spot.
Tonight’s game against the Twins begins at 8:10 p.m. EST.
Stay tuned to DK Network for live updates.
