The Reds announced Monday that they’ve optioned struggling outfielder Noelvi Marte to Triple-A Louisville. A corresponding move wasn’t announced, but FOX 19’s Charlie Goldsmith reports that Cincinnati is expected to recall outfielder Rece Hinds from Louisville in Marte’s place.
The 24-year-old Marte’s run with the Reds has been filled with peaks and valleys. The former top prospect came to Cincinnati as part of the blockbuster trade sending Luis Castillo to Seattle and burst onto the MLB scene with a .316/.366/.456 batting line in his first 123 plate appearances in 2023 — his age-21 season. He was popped for an 80-game PED ban the following spring and looked lost in his return to the majors later in the season, slashing just .210/.248/.301 in 242 turns at the plate.
Marte’s stock hit a low point after that 2024 campaign, and in 2025 he was moved from third base to right field to accommodate deadline pickup Ke’Bryan Hayes. Marte’s stock was trending down, but he took to right field nicely, posting solid defensive grades while rebounding at the plate. He appeared in 90 games — 56 of them in the outfield — and batted .263/.300/.448 with 14 homers and 10 steals. Defensive Runs Saved credited him as a strong defender on the grass (+4), while Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-2) was more bearish. Still, even a slightly negative mark for an infielder who learned the outfield on the fly — midseason, no less — suggested he had the potential to develop into a solid defender there.
Obscured a bit by that solid rebound effort in 2025, however, was a poor finish to the season. Marte floundered down the stretch with a .184/.214/.276 showing in his final 103 plate appearances of the season. He punched out 33 times (32%) against just four walks (3.9%).
Marte belted four homers in 56 plate appearances this spring, but he also continued on that worrisome K-BB trajectory from the end of the ’25 season. He walked just once this spring while fanning 16 times (28.6%). So far, his regular season output sits at just .138/.194/.138 with 10 strikeouts (32.3%) and two walks (6.5%) in 31 plate appearances. Marte has lacked any semblance of pitch recognition, chasing a staggering 47.4% of pitches he’s seen outside the strike zone this year. That’s sixth-worst among the 290 MLB hitters who’ve stepped into the batter’s box at least 30 times this year. His 71.5 mph average bat speed is down nearly two miles per hour from last year’s 73.3 mph.
If there’s a silver lining to Marte’s struggles, it’s that he won’t turn 25 until after the season ends and is still in the second of his three minor league option years. There’s ample time for him to right the ship and get back on track. Even combining his end-of-season slump, his rocky spring and his woeful start to 2026, we’re looking at a sample of fewer than 200 plate appearances. He made tons of hard contact during Cactus League play, and he’s still sporting a contact rate north of 90% on pitches within the strike zone. It stands to reason that if Marte can scale back his chase rate closer to the 33.7% he averaged from 2023-25, he could yet re-emerge as a quality hitter. That’d still be north of this year’s 29.5% league average, but not by an especially alarming measure.
From a service time vantage point, the demotion isn’t likely to impact Marte’s potential path to free agency. He entered the season needing only 33 days on the big league roster/injured list to reach two years of service. He’s already more than halfway there. He’ll very likely be back up this season, which would keep him on pace to hit the open market following the 2030 season (assuming he gets back on track and plays well enough to merit accruing six years of service, of course). It could cost him in arbitration, however. Marte was on a clear path to Super Two status, which would make him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three, but if he spends a notable portion of time in the minors, he won’t reach Super Two designation after all.
In place of Marte, the Reds will apparently turn to the 25-year-old Hinds. He’s a career .191/.245/.506 hitter in 95 big league plate appearances. He’s been even more strikeout-prone in the majors (38.9%) than Marte has during his slump, but Hinds has enormous raw power and has gotten out to a big start in Louisville. He’s slashing .354/.475/.771 with five round-trippers in his first 61 cracks at the plate. More encouragingly, he’s walked a dozen times (19.7%) with a manageable 15 strikeouts (24.6%). Hinds chased more than 37% of pitches off the plate in Triple-A last year and nearly 40% in the majors. This year, he’s sitting on an improved 31.3% chase rate in Louisville.
Hinds wrecked Triple-A pitching last year, too (.302/.359/.563) and flashed potential 30-30 upside with 24 big flies and 21 steals in only 107 games. It seems unlikely that he’ll make enough contact to reach that ceiling, but his power is readily apparent and Statcast credited him with 98th percentile sprint speed in 2025. The power-speed combination is understandably alluring, and he’ll get another opportunity to show he can stick in the majors while Marte looks to get back on track down in Louisville.
Looking at the numbers overall looks like hinds has figured it out and may be on the cusp of a breakout…marte needs to play everyday and get out of his own way
I hope Hinds sticks this time… he has enormous talent
So looking forward to Hinds getting this chance. I think she’s going to mash.
Past time. A couple more deserve to be demoted. Benson, Hayes and probably Steer as well. Hinds an Bleday have earned a chance with the Reds. Marte, Benson and Hayes have blown their chance for the time being.
Unfortunately the tight fisted patriarch will not pay Hayes to be in the minors. That trade never made sense with Stewart on the cusp. Benson is long past due, probably should have sent him down too and given someone else a chance to play.
I hope they actually let Hinds play every day this time instead of trying to platoon him with an undeserved Benson or something similar. He only gets experience with constant ABs.
The pitching staff needs to stop giving up so many walks too. That kills you in that ballpark.
On target. Let him and Bleday (at least against right handers for Bleday) play long enough to determine one way or the other if they are the answer. It is not like they have other alternatives right now. Maybe Hector Rodriguez down the road.
Hinds is tearing it up in the minors, he definitely deserves a shot at the big league level.
Marte’s numbers pre and post PED suspension are notably different.
Have to wonder if Seattle knew what was going on when they shipped him to Cincy.
Apparently there was a talking to in spring training about effort and he supposedly responded in the short term. You have to wonder if that continued.
Marte definitely seems lost at the plate. It remains to be seen if he takes the bull by the horns or sulks. You see one or the other usually.
He has been a major disappointment thus far. Why would anyone be stupid enough to take PEDs in the first place. You are going to get caught eventually.
I think the goal is to get paid before you get caught. There’s a disproportionately large percentage of PED users that hail from the DR. When looking to escape that level of poverty, it makes sense guys look for an edge.
I htink a Benson /Bleday switchout would have been preferrable this early in the season. Bensonwith over 1060 MLPA is a .223 hitter with an OBP at about .300 and will soon be 28. Bleday is a veteran and more capable of performing as a part time OF vs RHP. Marte only has 31 PA. He looks lost but awful early in the season to be demoted. Hines has to play more than Marte did. Will that be in the cards?
Thanks for Luis Castillo!
I have debated the lack of wisdom in that trade for years on this site. I won’t revisit that now.
Thank you!!! Now play Rece Hinds everyday please.
Tito’s love fest for Benson lives on. There is no way in heck Marte(24) should have been splitting time with Benson(28). Benson has shown he is nothing more than a 5th outfielder. Can’t hit a breaking ball to save his life. Had one hit this year on something other than a fast ball. Marte and Hinds should have been getting every day starts from opening day but Tito is more interested in playing his veterans that haven’t hit in years and stuffing his mouth with gum.