Ketel Marte didn’t just miss a game. He never showed up at Fenway Park on Monday for the series opener. The Arizona Diamondbacks had to scramble for a replacement just before the first pitch. And the worst part? Initially, none of his teammates or his manager knew the reason for his absence. The Diamondbacks’ manager, Torey Lovullo, wasn’t even certain if Marte was in Boston. The D’backs had no choice but to move forward without him, and while things became much clearer the following day, the criticism directed at Marte didn’t stop. But a legendary former MLB manager has offered a very different take on the matter. 

“What’s going on here? Is he all right? That’s always going to be my first concern,” Joe Maddon said in a recent interview with Foul Territory. “Is the guy okay? Because it’s such abnormal behavior.”

He said, before getting angry at Marte or even starting to assume things, one should try to understand the reason behind his absence. The 3x Manager of the Year knows perfectly well how unacceptable the absence is, but he reiterated that getting to the bottom of it would be his first response. 

Arizona wrapped the weekend with a 5-3 loss against the Atlanta Braves after securing the series. They had another road series against the Boston Red Sox. And when the players were there for the series opener on Monday afternoon, Marte was missing. They waited until 15 minutes before the game. But they had to put him on the restricted list and start without him. And the D’backs manager had very little insight. 

“It’s been a crazy day. All I know is he’s dealing with a personal issue,” Lovullo said postgame. “I’m sure in time we’ll start to uncover and unravel some information. But I knew that there was something going on today. … I still believed he was going to be here. He just didn’t show up.”

And it’s not just the manager. Marte’s closest friend on the team, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, was unable to get a response to his texts. And this is exactly what Maddon highlighted in his interview. 

“This is where the level of trust has to be established,” he said. “The relationship has to be built so that I can have this conversation with you. You can have this with me and know that I’m not going to carry it anywhere else.”

The only proper information came from Marte’s agent, Charisse Espinosa-Dash. She offered a statement that read, “[Marte] is currently managing a personal matter and will be undergoing an MRI on his knee tomorrow.”

Ketel Marte has been having some issues with his knee for some time. Marte left Arizona’s Aug. 14 game against Atlanta after the first inning with left-knee soreness, sat out Aug. 15, and returned to the lineup Aug. 16.

That said, the 3x MLB All-Star had another odd absence last year. He missed 3 games after the All-Star break and went back to the Dominican Republic following a burglary incident at his home. 

But Maddon wants to understand what’s happening with the player before judging his conduct. However, the franchise is going through a tough stretch. They are 67-61, 3rd in the NL West after a series loss in Boston. As of Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks were 1.5 games behind the last Wild Card spot, while chasing the Padres. They desperately need their home run leader to remain in contention.