Ketel Marte's unexplained absence gets stranger as Diamondbacks fight for NL wild card spot

One of the weirdest stories of the 2026 Major League Baseball season just keeps getting weirder.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had a tough start to the year, but have battled back to put themselves squarely in postseason contention.

Led by Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno and a resurgent Nolan Arenado , the Diamondbacks as of Wednesday afternoon found themselves just 1.5 games out of the third wild card spot in the National League.

Importantly, they finish out the season with three games against the team they're chasing, the San Diego Padres .

Perhaps even more importantly? They might have to chase those Padres down without one of their best players, infielder Ketel Marte.

SAN DIEGO PADRES STAR MANNY MACHADO IS WRONG TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MODERN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Marte's had a down season, by his very high standards, but still leads the team in home runs with 21, strikes out just 15% of the time, and typically contributes solid to above-average defense.

There's just one problem: he didn't show up to the game a few days ago, and nobody seems to know exactly why.

Monday afternoon, the Diamondbacks were set to start a series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Each game vitally important, a series against a tough opponent on the road, and Marte just... didn't show up.

With no explanation.

Arizona waited until 20 minutes before game time to put Marte on the restricted list, and the story got even stranger afterward.

Manager Torey Lovullo was asked about Marte's absence after the game and said he tried talking to his star infielder but "there was very little coming back." "It's been a crazy day.

All I know is he's dealing with a personal issue," he said postgame.

"We're trying to figure that out.