How The Reds Hectic Week Changes Their Outlook.
Photo from AtReds on X.
On March 8th, fans of the Cincinnati Reds got some bad news, when Jeff Passan reported that Noelvi Marte had been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Boldenone, a violation of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) PED policy. However, the busy weekend wouldn’t end there.
Just a couple hours before the Marte news broke, Buster Olney reported that Cincinnati legend Joey Votto had signed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, his hometown team. Votto spent 17 years in Cincinnati red and has certainly earned a special spot in the hearts of all Cincinnatians.
As Reds fans felt a sense of happiness for a legend, it came with some unease as everyone knew just how weird it would be to see Votto in a different uniform.
Then, everyone found out about Marte’s violation. The mood immediately shifted into a look at which players could slide into his position this season.
This wouldn’t last too long though, as Francys Romero posted on X at 1:45 P.M. on March 9th to tell the world that Jose Barrero had been traded to the Texas Rangers. Fans immediately took to X to spectate on what president of baseball operations, Nick Krall received in return for Barrero. However, it would later come out that he was simply claimed off waivers, and not traded.
While Barrero never truly panned out in MLB, it appeared as if he would have a spot on this year’s roster after the Marte news came out. Barrero hit .218 last season and expanded his role to the outfield as well.
Within the span of 24 hours, Reds fans learned of the departure of a legend, the suspension of a key contributor to this team, and the departure of a key utility player.
So now the big question is, who will replace Marte this season? While you hate to get this news, it could not happen in a better season. The Reds are absolutely loaded with infield talent this year and shouldn’t have any issue filling Marte’s primary third base position.
For starters, off season addition Jeimer Candelario has primarily played third base in his career. Candelario was expected to replace Votto at first base to start the season before the Marte suspension, but Cincinnati has plenty of candidates to replace Votto, as Candelario now likely slides back over to third base.
Jeimer Candelario playing third base for the Cubs. Photo from Nick Wass (AP)
Other candidates for third base include Jonathan India, Spencer Steer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (CES). It had appeared that India, and Steer would be looking for a bigger role in the outfield with the plethora of infield talent, and that still may be the case. However, the Marte suspension will give them more playing time in the infield. All three of these players will also find themselves with time at first base as well.
With such a deep team it can’t hurt to give these players more playing time. While Marte’s absence will hurt, it shouldn’t affect the team’s production.
Marte can return for the second half of the season but cannot play in the postseason. Due to MLB policy, any player suspended during the regular season for a PED violation cannot play if that team advances to the postseason.
However, Cincinnati has an extremely deep roster, and will have Marte for the final regular season push and should still be fine in the playoff race.