CINCINNATI – All expectations entering the season were that Noelvi Marte would be the Reds' regular right fielder and have a chance to thrive on both sides of the game playing a position he only learned midway through 2025.
Instead, Marte couldn't get going at the plate. After Sunday's 9-6 loss to the Angels, Cincinnati optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. A corresponding move was not made, but according to sources, the club is expected to recall outfielder Rece Hinds from Louisville to replace Marte on the 26-man roster.
“He’s just having a tough time," Reds manager Terry Francona said about Marte after Sunday's game before a roster move was revealed. "He looks like he’s trying to hit everything. When you see him going up there and swinging at a 2-0 breaking ball, sometimes it’s hard to let the game come to you.”
In 11 games this season, Marte was batting .138 (4-for-29) with no extra-base hits, no RBIs and 10 strikeouts. He batted .263 with a .748 OPS, 14 homers and 51 RBIs in 90 games last season.
Marte, 24, came up as a third baseman in 2023, and he struggled there and at the plate in '24 after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive in Spring Training for performance-enhancing drugs. Optioned to Louisville during camp in '25, he was praised for his hard work and earning his way back to the big leagues.
However, errors and mistakes at third base continued before the Reds decided to try Marte in right field in July. He took to the position well and learned on the fly, even making a game- and season-saving leaping catch at the wall for Cincinnati on Sept. 25 vs. the Pirates. The play was even commemorated with a bobblehead giveaway on Saturday.
Hinds had a superb Spring Training and was one of the final camp cuts after batting .410 with a 1.414 OPS and five homers in 21 games. His production carried into the regular season with Louisville, where he was batting .354 with a 1.246 OPS, five homers and 16 RBIs in 13 games.
After making his big league debut in 2024, Hinds famously hit five home runs over his first six games for the Reds but has struggled at the plate and defensively since. Over multiple callups in '25, he batted .116 in 15 games.