CINCINNATI -- After a long stretch of seeing him struggle both offensively and defensively in right field for the Reds, manager Terry Francona had Noelvi Marte in his office on Monday night and asked him how he thought things were going.
"And he said, ‘Not very well,’" Francona said.
For the second time this season, Marte was given a demotion as he was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. On Tuesday, Cincinnati recalled catcher Will Banfield.
Marte, 24, was batting .189 with a .550 OPS and six home runs in 63 games overall this season. But in 12 August games, he plummeted to a .133 average and .289 OPS with no homers. Meanwhile, his defensive play had also looked poor.
"I said, ‘This is kind of a pivotal time for you,’" Francona said. "’Don’t just go down.’ He’s probably going to find ways to get hits in Triple-A. I said, ‘You’ve got to play with some urgency and get after it. Be the first one out there. Don’t be the last one out there. Take charge in the outfield, things like that.’”
Marte, who was converted from being a third baseman to right field midway through the 2025 season, opened this season as Cincinnati's right fielder. But he was sent down on April 13 before being recalled on June 3.
“He has all the tools to be an everyday player," Francona said. "Saying that, when you’re playing every day, you’ve got to find a way to help the team win. And it’s not just getting hits. It’s playing the position. It’s just being accountable for many different things. He was just having a tough time by his own admission."
Marte was one of several Reds hitters with anemic offensive offensive numbers. Adding Banfield not only gives the club a third catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino, it could provide added offense in multiple ways.
On days he isn't catching, Stephenson could be a designated hitter more often.
“That can be a possibility," Francona said. "With [Michael] Toglia here and [Héctor] Rodríguez, they can play right field and left and Toglia can move around. We’ve got a kid here that can catch and throw really well. We talked about a lot of different scenarios, and it just seemed like this might be the best way to help our roster.”
Banfield, who played 10 big league games for the Reds late last season in his first callup, has seen offensive improvement from last season for Louisville. In 79 games, he batted .262 with a .731 OPS and 11 homers. Over 79 games last season there, he batted .214 with a .562 OPS and two homers.