Arizona Diamondbacks standout second baseman Ketel Marte was scratched with back stiffness shortly before the start of Thursday’s game against the host St. Louis Cardinals.

Marte has experienced recent back issues and served as the designated hitter on Monday and Tuesday against the Athletics. He started at second base on Wednesday afternoon and exited after 5 1/2 innings of a 15-5 rout of the Athletics.

The 32-year-old Marte is batting .258 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 98 games this season. He averaged 29.7 homers over the previous three seasons.

Marte is a three-time All-Star during his 10 seasons with the Diamondbacks. He finished third in National League MVP voting in 2024 and fourth in 2019.

Marte also played two seasons (2015-16) with the Seattle Mariners before being traded to Arizona. He has 189 homers and 646 RBIs to go with a .279 average in 1,328 career games over 12 seasons.

First baseman Tyler Locklear moved into the starting lineup, Tim Tawa switched from first to third base and Ildemaro Vargas moved from third to second base due to Marte being scratched.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.