PHOENIX -- Numbers don’t often tell the whole story, but they come pretty darn close in the case of Ketel Marte and his 2019 season.

Marte slugged 32 homers while hitting .329/.389/.592. His bWAR of 6.9 was fourth among in the National League, while his 7.1 fWAR ranked third. He was second in the NL in batting average and tied for sixth in extra-base hits (77).

And that’s despite having his season shut down two weeks early due to a stress reaction in his back and learning a new position -- center field -- while also playing second base and some shortstop.

“I am really happy with it,” Marte said of his 2019 season. “Based on the season I’ve had, I’m really happy with my numbers, with the way I’ve performed, and I really couldn’t have asked anything more of what 2019 has been for me.”

It’s fair to say the D-backs could not have either.

What went right?

The biggest question surrounding Marte coming into Spring Training was how he would adjust to playing center field. After all, he had only played two games there in his big league career.

Yet right from the start, the transition appeared seamless. Marte started 89 games in center, 47 at second base and five at shortstop. He often was asked to switch positions during games and -- despite all that -- he was able to play exceptional defense.

Marte carried the D-backs offense at times, and he was elected by fans to be the starting second baseman for the All-Star Game.

“He continued to get big hit after big hit for us and made things happen,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said.

What went wrong

The season ended early for him as a result of the stress reaction in his back. The team is still exploring what might have caused the injury. Marte initially said that the new synthetic grass at Chase Field might have played a role, but then later walked that back.

Either way, the team will look to try and reduce his workload a bit next year. Lovullo said towards the end of the year that he understood that he probably “redlined” Marte when it came to playing time while the team was making a push for the postseason.

2020 outlook

Once again there’s a question of where Marte will play. There is not another starting center fielder on the Arizona roster at the moment, so if the D-backs don’t acquire one during the offseason, Marte will likely be back in center. Either way, the team will make sure to give him more rest going forward.

“We need to take care of Ketel first,” general manager Mike Hazen said. “That [playing multiple positions] was a luxury that we have on our roster, but it’s not one that we take lightly. We appreciate and respect that a superstar player is willing to do for his teammates and his team something that is extremely hard. He’s exceptional at it, but we don’t take that lightly. I still believe that that flexibility will allow us to make the best decisions possible this offseason going into next year.”

Marte isn’t shying away from the raised expectations he’ll face next season after a breakout 2019. He smiled when asked if he could expect to have the same sort of success.

“Of course I can,” Marte said. “I feel like I can make it and also focus on learning every single day, keep getting better every single day and try to strive to be the best I can.”