PHOENIX — Ketel Marte is having one of the best seasons of his career on the field.

That hasn’t stopped a fair amount of criticism for the Arizona Diamondbacks slugger off of it.

The All-Star second baseman apologized through an interpreter Monday for missing three games following the All-Star break after flying back to his home in the Dominican Republic — a situation that has apparently been festering in the clubhouse over the past month.

The 31-year-old said he initially expected to return to Phoenix immediately following the break but was “frustrated” and “in a bad spot” after he learned his residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, had been burglarized during the break, according to the interpreter.

The D-backs were playing a crucial stretch of games — fighting for playoff position ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. Arizona placed Marte on the restricted list for the first two games of his absence and then he didn’t play a third game after returning to the club.

In response to criticisms that he takes too many games off, Marte said he has dealt with injury issues and is following a plan designed by the training staff. Marte has missed 33 games this year, the majority of which were because of a hamstring injury.

“I know there’s an elephant in the room and I’ll just say what I want to say about it,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I know that Ketel talked to you guys and I’m proud of him for doing that. That’s not easy for him to do. I know he showed some vulnerability and I’m really proud of him for digging in the way that he did.

“What I’ll say about Ketel are the things that I know — he’s a great teammate, he’s a great young man, he plays hard every single day for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He just wants to win baseball games. That’s it.”

Marte has dealt with a torrent of criticism after a report in the Arizona Republic last week said that some teammates were frustrated with the second baseman’s behavior over the past month and that his absence after the All-Star break might have partially caused the team’s collapse before the trade deadline.

The D-backs came into the season with high expectations but are 60-65.

Arizona won the three games Marte missed after the All-Star break — sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals — but then lost nine of 10 when he returned to the lineup.

That affected the organization’s approach at the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks sent third baseman Eugenio Suárez and first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners in separate deals, outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals and right-hander Merrill Kelly to the Texas Rangers.

Marte is having a terrific all-around offensive season, batting .297 with 23 homers and 56 RBIs. The three-time All-Star has been with the organization since 2017 and was key to the team’s unexpected run to the World Series in 2023.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A program from the first National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1939 signed by all 11 living inductees at the time has sold via Lelands Auctions for just over $315,000. It’s the most ever paid for a program, beating out the $241,500 paid for a 1903 World Series program in 2011.

The Baseball Hall of Fame program is believed to be the only ever signed by all the living inductees present at the event: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb (who signed the program twice), Walter Johnson, Honus Wager, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins and Connie Mack. The program is also signed by Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Lefty Grove and Johnny Vander Meer, among others.

The consignor’s parents, who were engaged at the time, attended the ceremony on June 12, 1939. They both purchased a program and tried to obtain as many signatures as they could, and the consignor’s mother obtained the autographs of all the living inductees.

“My mother and her fiancé wanted to collect all the autographs of the living HOF players while at the opening of the HOF,” wrote the consignor, whose name wasn’t disclosed. “She got autographs from all except for Ty Cobb who was late. In fact he missed the famous photograph with all the other inductees.”

The consignor went on to write that his mother waited for Cobb, who agreed to give his autograph only if he could have a kiss.

“She gave him a kiss on the cheek, but as she pulled away, he kissed her,” the consignor wrote. “When signing, he said ‘Well, since I got two kisses, I’ll sign it twice.’ Thus the ‘Double Ty’ signature.”

The program includes a letter of authenticity, verifying the veracity of the signatures, by grader and authenticator Professional Sports Authenticator.

CHICAGO — Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker is likely to get multiple days off after going 0-for-4 in Game 1 of a doubleheader Monday, manager Craig Counsell announced after his team’s 7-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tucker, 28, has struggled mightily this month, hitting .160 with zero extra-base hits. He was booed after each of his final three at-bats in Game 1, including two weak groundouts and a popup to left field. He also grounded out in his first at-bat.

“The fans are frustrated, and Kyle is frustrated,” Counsell said after the game. “When you make outs, it doesn’t look good. He’s trying. It’s just not clicking. We’re going to have to take a step back here, just give him some days off to reset him, hopefully.”

Players aren’t available to speak between doubleheaders, so Tucker couldn’t comment on the decision. He hasn’t homered since July 19 and has just four extra-base hits since July 1.

“He’s frustrated, and we’re not coming up with solutions for him and he’s not coming up with solutions,” Counsell said. “Sometimes, you have to take some steps back to go forward again.”

Overall, Tucker is hitting .261 with an .821 OPS, but his ground ball rate has skyrocketed in August. It’s 53.7%, 17th highest among qualified hitters, according to ESPN Research. Entering the month, he ranked ninth lowest in ground ball rate.

“It’s not for lack of effort on the coaching side or Kyle’s side,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the game. “He hasn’t slugged in quite a while. The ball is not in the air. The exit velos aren’t high. A lot of it is mechanical. If you look at his swing early in the year, as opposed to now, it’s less connected, therefore less powerful.”

Tucker jammed his right ring finger in early June, an injury that could have impacted the grip on his swing and subsequently his mechanics, but he insists that’s not an issue. The eight-year veteran will be a free agent after this season.

“He’s too good a player for it not to click,” Hoyer said. “He’s going to get hot again. Hopefully, it’s a torrid-hot streak like it was in April.”

That streak won’t begin at least for a few games as Tucker will continue to work behind the scenes to find solutions while getting a mental reset. Meanwhile, Cubs starter Cade Horton left Game 1 in the third inning because of a blister issue, but he said he thinks he’ll make his next start.

“It’s nothing crazy,” Horton said.