PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks are eager to put the whole Ketel Marte saga behind them, and Monday will be the latest, and perhaps final, step in that process.
As has been well-chronicled, the second baseman failed to show up at Fenway Park on Aug. 17 for that night's scheduled game with the Red Sox. Marte's teammates as well as team officials were left in the dark as to why he declined to show up.
It was not until a few days later when Marte and his agent sat down with general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo at Salt River Fields that the team got a chance to hear directly from Marte as to what the issue or issues were.
After initially being placed on the restricted list, Marte was transferred to the 10-day injured list after an MRI of his left knee showed inflammation.
Marte's stint on the IL is due to expire Monday, and the team is planning on having him rejoin the active roster for that night's series opener against the Phillies at Chase Field.
While Lovullo said that Marte apologized to he and Hazen during the meeting at Salt River Fields, he believes it would be beneficial for Marte to do the same to his teammates when he returns.
"We're playing good baseball right now," Lovullo said. "We need to keep playing good baseball. I think an apology would galvanize this group. He doesn't know how powerful that would be if he did something like that."
Lovullo has done his best to smooth the way for Marte's return. Following a game on the last homestand, the manager and Hazen met with a group of veteran players that included Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Nolan Arenado, Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly to discuss the situation.
The meeting lasted around 45 minutes, with everyone getting to have their say. While some in the clubhouse may not be happy with the way Marte handled the situation, they are locked in a tight race with the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot and realize that having him in the lineup gives them their best chance.
In other words, they will welcome him back.
Hazen did not want to get into what was said or what the opinions or how players feel, but he did explain why he wanted the meeting to happen.
"I think we had a pretty open and honest conversation," Hazen said. "I wanted to see what they thought. I think this is their team. It's more about how they see it, and we don't always have that perspective. And so I wanted to make sure that we knew that, because I think that's a valuable piece. They're awesome dudes and great professionals, and we trust how they see the world and I think we're pretty much aligned on a lot of different stuff. There's no crazy misalignment, but I think them having a voice in all this stuff, too, is important because I don't want it to seem like we're just making decisions for them. I want to feel like we're making decisions in a lot of ways with them."
Monday, Marte's teammates will hear from him for the first time as a group and everyone seems to hope it's the last step in moving on.