After a winter of training, expect Marte to solidify himself in the OF

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- With relatively little training as a right fielder, former infielder Noelvi Marte pulled off quite a feat last year. Marte's homer-robbing catch at the fence vs. the Pirates not only preserved a win but saved the Reds' season.

Now imagine what Marte can do for Cincinnati this year with a winter's worth of preparation and a full Spring Training.

“He’s going to be able to play more loose, more free and not have to worry about certain things," center fielder TJ Friedl said. "It’s going to be exciting.”

On Sept. 25, as the Reds clinged to hopes to remain alive for the final National League Wild Card spot, Marte took away a would-be game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Marte tracked the Bryan Reynolds drive, timed his jump perfectly and snagged the ball in his glove above the wall.

• Guardians 4, Reds 2

As the crowd roared, Marte and Friedl ran to each other in the outfield to celebrate the moment.

“Going into the outfield in the middle of the season and doing that, I’m going to put that as one of the most emotional moments of my career," Marte said via translator Tomas Vera.

"It was incredible," Friedl said. "I think the raw emotion of me and him running up to each other after he caught that was literally just pure joy.”

The Reds, who went on to clinch the playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, will commemorate the play with a bobblehead giveaway on Saturday, April 11.

A natural shortstop who broke into the big leagues as a third baseman in 2023, Marte was a below-average defender who racked up errors -- often with throws. By 2024, after opening the season serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, he was one of the worst-rated defensive third basemen in baseball.

Instructed to earn his way back to the Major Leagues, Marte opened 2025 at Triple-A Louisville and impressed manager Terry Francona and the organization with his hard work. He was recalled, but defensive mistakes persisted. Then Marte missed two months from May 5-July 4 with a left oblique strain.

In mid-July at New York, Marte was given his first start in right field. The move became permanent less than two weeks later when Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes was acquired at the Trade Deadline.

Despite the midseason switch with little prep, Marte took to a new position quickly.

“He’s much more comfortable there," Francona said. "I think it was always a fight to find a release point, always making sure his throws were OK. The minute he went to the outfield, it just freed him up. He’s got a good arm. He’s got really good arm strength, but it plays better in the outfield.”

Marte was able to relax in right field.

"When you’re in the outfield, you’ve got less pressure," Marte said. "You have more time, not just to work on what’s coming during the game, also you can think about what happened in the at-bat before and the way I’m going to attack the next at-bat.”

At the plate in 90 games last season, Marte batted .263 with a .748 OPS, 14 homers and 51 RBIs.

Midseason switches to an entirely new position are uncommon in the big leagues. Despite working with first-base coach Collin Cowgill, Marte didn't have the benefit of extensive afternoon work because he had to conserve energy for games.

“It’s extremely hard. I’ve given him a lot of credit for handling that the way he did," Friedl said. "He didn’t have a month-and-a-half of Spring Training to do extra work, routine outfield drills.

“He had a whole offseason. And now that he has a month and a half to do outfield work. Doing the little drills that we normally don’t do during the season, this is the time we do it.”

Francona plans to give Marte chances in center field this spring to capitalize on his athleticism. It could come in handy in-season should Friedl need to be spelled.

But Marte's main focus is right field.

"We want him to be the everyday right fielder, take it and run with it," Francona said.

Playing right field from the start has given Marte more confidence a big year could be awaiting.

“It feels really good because it’s good when you come into camp and you’re going to one position," Marte said. "When you do that in that situation, you feel more dedicated to what you have to do."

Having a season-saving catch already on his right-field resume has given Marte validation that he could be even better.

"Now after doing that," Marte said. "I know I have higher limitations.”