The Reds announced that infielder Noelvi Marté has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 5th, due to a left oblique strain. Outfielder Rece Hinds has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Marté was scratched from yesterday’s game due to left side pain. It appears that testing done since then has revealed a strain. The club hasn’t announced the severity or how long they expect Marté to be out of action but even moderate oblique strains can take weeks or even months to recover from.
Time will tell how long it lasts but this IL stint will deprive the Reds of one of their best bats this year and interrupt Marté’s return to form. Through 73 plate appearances, he is hitting .294/.342/.515 this year for a 131 wRC+.
That’s a small sample but is nonetheless reassuring, given recent history. Marte was once a top prospect and then made a strong debut in 2023, hitting .316/.366/.456 in 123 plate appearances that year. But going into 2024, he received an 80-game PED suspension and posted dismal results when he got back, slashing just .210/.248/.301 last year. That performance was bad enough that he actually got optioned to the minors to start 2025 but he crushed the ball down in Louisville and got called up by the middle of April.
His hot streak over the past few weeks led to some renewed optimism about him carving out a major league career and perhaps taking over as the club’s long-term third baseman. That’s all still possible but it will have to be put on pause now for at least a little while.
For the club, they will be particularly short-handed at the infield corners for a while, as Marte is joining Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the IL. Spencer Steer has been getting most of the first base playing time lately and could stay there, though he could also move to third and give some first base playing time to Tyler Stephenson. Some third base time could also go to Santiago Espinal. He has a .333/.383/.391 line this year, though that’s surely inflated by a .368 batting average on balls in play and his career line is a more modest .270/.325/.366. Gavin Lux has seen a bit of playing time at third this year and could be a consideration there as well.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene, Imagn Images
Those are some ugly numbers, especially Candelario’s
Candy wasn’t that great last year either. I think most folks hoped playing in Cincy would be a boost but he’s been a pretty poor investment thus far
He’s a divestment at this point.
And after this year a distant, distant, easily forgettable memory for Reds fans…
Next time pile the money up on the street and have a drone firebomb it…
Peds help you heal faster
Mayb he should try em again
He definitely has earned the criticism but he’s one of the few in recent years that didn’t make up some stupid excuse which I somewhat admire. The kid owned up to it. Still a cheat though but don’t want to see his career ended
Everyone knew the offense needed more thump except the Reds front office for going on two years now, especially in the outfield, where they like to play light hitting infielders instead.
Meanwhile, another year of guys like Elly and all that young pitching gets wasted.
At least Hinds will get another chance. Number 57 in your program.
Small sample, but at least Marte is proving the juice wasn’t a factor, he’s got talent it seems. That’s my half glass full positive comment for your Reds!
Acoss1331… I love the kid. Yes, he hurt the team last year. But realistically, they weren’t a team built to win it all in retrospect. I’m a boomin 64, lifelong fan, and bought my first jersey ever last spring. I was ready to get #16, but after the suspension I bought a #9… may pick up a #16 yet!
Reds fans are passionate, you guys deserve good vibes. I hope this young core gives you some playoff runs!
Much appreciated!
They could put Lux at 2B, with De La Cruz moving to 3B and McLain to SS.
This is the most injured team in baseball year in and year out.
Agreed. I had commented last offseason they seriously needed to look at the training and medical staffs.
Lifelong Reds fan side note #1:
Francona is not more effective than Bell. With middling over-all talent, the team needs to develop an edge/instilled fire, and it seems to be going the other way. Example – EDLC is now 86th percentile Sprint Speed (99 up to this year) and Fielding Range 6th percentile (85+ up to this year). There are other examples as well.
Tried to caution folks. A good manager can get you a few wins but a) it is up to the players in the end and b) management has to get him something to work with. We knew b wasn’t happening outside what they had so the only hope was a.
Also tried to caution folks on thinking McLain would pick up where he left off after missing a year. It takes a while to get used to live pitching again and he didn’t have much of a spring.
Lifelong Reds fan side note #2: The Castellini family have again proven themselves to be cheapAF. Leody Tavares was available via Waivers as a legitimate MLB solution; the Reds passed.
Maybe the upside is that the mystery had been solved – Dunn/Hurtubise are not everyday MLB players, despite highly productive Intl. League numbers. Easy to root for these two players but, as is said i. show business – “Next !!!”
At least now they are forced to play infielders in the infield! What a concept!
The Castellinis squeeze a nickel until the buffalo defecates twice. Bob once and then Phil comes along to see if he’ll do it again.
Lifelong Reds fan here as well and everything you say is spot on. Tavares is right there and they pass as they normally do. Dunn and Hurtubise are just this year’s version of Benson and Fairchild.