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How Noelvi Marte's suspension will impact the Reds' lineup

charlie goldsmith, cincinnati enquirer
·6 min read
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GOODYEAR, Ariz — Before Cincinnati Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte received an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy, he was in line to receive about six-to-nine starts out of every 10 games. The Reds entered the year with a lot of position player depth, and they’ll utilize that depth to fill Marte’s place in the lineup.

The Reds currently have 10 every day regulars in the mix: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jeimer Candelario, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Jonathan India, Spencer Steer, Will Benson, Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson. Bell said that Marte’s suspension doesn’t change the plan that De La Cruz will focus on shortstop and McLain will focus on second base.

The Reds started spring training with more options at third base than any other position. Without Marte, Candelario will likely get the bulk of the playing time there. Encarnacion-Strand, Jonathan India, Steer and a potential 26th man are candidates to fill in at third base behind Candelario.

“Jeimer was going to play there a lot anyways,” Reds manager David Bell said. “There’s less of a need to have Jeimer at first, although we want to make sure we get him work there, too. But he’ll get a lot of playing time at third.”

Jeimer Candelario was expected to play a lot at third base even before Noelvi Marte's 80-game suspension. “Jeimer was going to play there a lot anyways,” Reds manager David Bell said. “There’s less of a need to have Jeimer at first . . ."
Jeimer Candelario was expected to play a lot at third base even before Noelvi Marte's 80-game suspension. “Jeimer was going to play there a lot anyways,” Reds manager David Bell said. “There’s less of a need to have Jeimer at first . . ."

Before Marte’s suspension, Candelario was on track to split his playing time between third base, first base and designated hitter. With Candelario at third base more often, the Reds have more at-bats available at those other two spots.

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Marte’s six-to-nine starts out of 10 games will likely be divided up between Encarnacion-Strand, India, Benson, Steer and Fraley as that group gets closer to every day playing time.

Encarnacion-Strand was already going to play a big role this year as a middle-of-the-order power bat, and now there are more starts available for him at first base. There are also more starts available for India at first base and designated hitter and more starts available at designated hitter for Benson, Steer and Fraley.

Bell said that Steer will continue to be a regular in the outfield, and Steer has also been taking occasional ground balls at second base this spring.  Even though Steer was last year’s Opening Day starter at third base, he hasn’t worked there this spring because of the depth that the Reds have at that position.

India will still play first base, second base, third base and left field, and he’s expected to make his first spring training appearance in the outfield on Sunday.

Jonathan India has worked with first base coach Collin Cowgill on outfield drills this spring. India, who is expected to play multiple positions, is set to play in the outfield for the first time Sunday.
Jonathan India has worked with first base coach Collin Cowgill on outfield drills this spring. India, who is expected to play multiple positions, is set to play in the outfield for the first time Sunday.

With Marte’s spot on the 26-man roster now available, the Reds have an open spot in camp behind the 10 regulars, backup catcher Luke Maile and center fielder Stuart Fairchild, who has taken a big step forward this spring. Nick Martini, Josh Harrison, Tony Kemp and Mike Ford are the leading candidates for that spot.

Shortly after Marte’s suspension on Friday, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall declined to comment on whether the Reds would look at filling Marte’s roster spot with a new free agent addition.

Bell said that he’ll use spring training to evaluate the in-house options for the 26th roster spot.

“It’ll always depend on how you play,” Bell said. “It’s also about how the entire roster comes together. It’d be a mistake to narrow it down now or make a decision right now. Bringing in really good players to camp is always a good thing. We’ll have to make a good decision at the end.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Noelvi Marte's suspension will impact the Reds' lineup