Just a few days after San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatís Jr. injured his shoulder, another young star player from the NL West had to leave a game with an injury that didn’t look good.
Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Ketel Marte left Wednesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies with a leg injury while trying to beat out a groundball in the top of the sixth inning. Marte came up lame before he even reached first base, and then crumpled to the ground in the outfield. Marte could hardly walk as two Arizona staff members helped him off the field.
Ketel Marte limping off the field… pic.twitter.com/Hdv7jJBG8l
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 8, 2021
No official diagnosis has been released by the Diamondbacks yet.
Marte, 27, was off to a tremendous start to the 2021 season. According to FanGraphs, he’s already been worth 0.6 wins above replacement (second in MLB) this season, and was worth 7.0 WAR (sixth in MLB) in 2019. He’s a terrific all-around player that impacts the game offensively and defensively.
And he’s easily the most valuable player on the Diamondbacks, who are retooling and likely to finish well behind the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West. If Marte is out for a long period of time, Arizona *especially* looks rough on paper for the 2021 season.
Hopefully the injury is nothing more than a mild hamstring strain, but Marte was clearly in serious pain.
UPDATE: Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, but the Diamondbacks have not revealed the severity of the injury.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.