Marte (strained left hamstring) lands on injured list

WASHINGTON -- After departing the D-backs' 6-4 victory over the Nationals on Friday night with a strained left hamstring, All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday morning. Infielder Tim Tawa, who has not played in the Majors yet, was recalled from Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move.

In the second at-bat of the game, Marte roped what looked like a surefire triple out to center field. But the D-backs’ second baseman, just two days removed from signing a six-year extension with the club, pulled up lame as he rounded first base and settled for a double.

Marte was attended to by the training staff almost immediately and walked off the field of his own accord, being replaced at second base and in the batting order by Garrett Hampson.

Marte will travel back to Arizona with the D-backs after the finale on Sunday, where he will undergo further imaging and testing to determine the grade of his strain and a treatment plan.

“There's no time crunch here,” manager Torey Lovullo said pregame Saturday. “We know that there's something wrong with the hamstring. We'll get him home to our doctors. …

“It's not ideal. We know that he's one of the best players in the National League, and we’ll try to make the best of it. It's the ‘next man up’ mentality. We have a very hungry team. To say that he's not going to be missed would be a lie. Everybody wants Ketel Marte in their lineup at all times.”

Marte, who finished third in National League Most Valuable Player voting in 2024, is not an easy player to replace. Marte’s outs above average (eight) rank in the 93rd percentile of MLB players, while his offense also ranks in the top 10% of MLB players (97th percentile in xwOBA, 96th in expected batting average, expected slugging and hard-hit rate, and 98th in average exit velocity).

The D-backs are hoping Marte’s stint on the IL won’t be too long, but only time will tell. At the very least, Arizona is hoping to avoid what wrecked the early part of their 2024 campaign, when the club saw 10 injured list designations within the first two months of the season. By the end of the year, they ranked 21st in MLB with 1,299 days of injured list time. Marte is the first position player the D-backs have placed on the IL since Opening Day.

The second baseman has dealt with hamstring issues in the past. In 2021, he was on the IL with a right hamstring strain from April 8-May 18, then -- after returning -- went on the IL with a left hamstring strain on June 28. But the D-backs aren’t too concerned with that history.

“In years past, I would have said yes, but ‘21 I think was the last time he had this type of an injury,” Lovullo said. “So I don't know why it was, why it happened. He plays hard. He trains very, very hard. And you know, with the cold weather, the inconsistencies of the weather, it maybe caught him. But minimal concern for me, because he's learned so much about his body and what it takes to stay healthy. And this is four years now since he's had this particular injury, so I think this is hopefully an outlier and once he gets healthy, he'll remain healthy the rest of the year.”

While no one can perfectly replicate Marte’s impact on both sides of the plate, Tawa is an excellent substitute. Tawa had the day off on Friday, but in their last game on Thursday, he went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs -- the perfect example of his offensive talent. After catching a redeye flight (including a layover in Phoenix) and arriving in Washington at 8 a.m. on Saturday, he then was slotted into the starting lineup, hitting ninth and playing second base, for his Major League debut. Tawa singled sharply to left field in the top of the third inning for his first Major League hit.

Tawa, who has a .391 average and 1.419 OPS in six games at Reno, will get the majority of playing time while Marte is injured. Hampson is the type of super utility player who can handle nearly every position -- one of the reasons he broke camp with the D-backs -- and will still see his share of playing time.

“Yeah, I think we'll still put Garrett into that role of, you know, primary backup, occasional starting,” Lovullo said. “And there's going to be a role for him to get some more at-bats here. I just believe in getting that called-up player, first-time called-up player, into the lineup as soon as possible. Get through the nerves. There's a certain excitement. And he's hot, and I don't want to -- I want to take advantage of that.”