Marte stars in return to Majors following 80-game suspension

ST. LOUIS — At what could be the most pivotal point of the season for the Reds, they got what they believed to be a boost to both their lineup and infield. On Thursday, third baseman Noelvi Marte was reinstated to the club after serving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

“It’s so great. I was waiting for that the whole time,” good friend and Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz said before warming up on the field with Marte. “He will help a lot. He can hit. He can play defense. He can do it all.”

“He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a talent,” said second baseman Jonathan India, who extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single and a double. “Look at what he did tonight, a great game. He was coming out swinging like he usually does. It’s big just for our lineup.”

The Reds already had a 3-0 lead in the third inning when Marte hit an RBI double to the gap in left-center field against struggling St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas. He scored on Will Benson’s sacrifice fly. Spencer Steer added a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning.

In the top of the fifth, Marte kicked off a three-run rally with a leadoff single to right-center field and scored on Benson’s RBI double to left field. Marte’s third hit was a leadoff single to right-center field in the seventh.

“We believe he’s a big league player. I think he showed that tonight,” Reds manager David Bell said.

Cincinnati entered Thursday’s four-game series vs. a hot National League Central rival in the Cardinals having lost 10 of its past 15 games while the offense sputtered. After the series ends, the road trip moves to New York for a three-game series against the American League East-leading Yankees.
No pressure or anything for a 22-year-old with only 35 big league games of experience.

“For me, it’s giving my positive energy out there as much as possible. I know that’s how I can best contribute to this team,” Marte said via translator Jorge Merlos.

MLB Pipeline’s No. 27 overall prospect and ranked No. 2 in the organization, Marte finished a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville. He batted .151 with a .321 OPS, no homers and 15 strikeouts over 53 at-bats in 12 games, but the organization felt the small sample was similar to Spring Training games.

But when it counted in a big league game, Marte proved he was ready.

“I was just focusing myself on the emotional aspect and being ready to attack the zone and finding ways of making sure that I was ready to go with the bat,” Marte said.

“We’re all thrilled to have him back part of our team,” Bell said. “It’s time for Noelvi to play baseball. He served his suspension, and we move forward and play baseball.”

Marte is a defensive upgrade at third base from veteran Jeimer Candelario, who has also been hampered by right knee tendinitis. Candelario, who was out of the lineup for a second straight game, will likely get more time at first base and designated hitter.

Just having Marte being sure-handed on the field will be a boost while he aims to provide offense.

“The talent Noelvi is, the player we’ve seen already, that’s why it’s so important for Noelvi to be himself, go out and play hard and work to get better every day,” Bell said. “Everything else is going to take care of itself. The production and the performance will be there.”

The Reds and Marte were doing their best to look forward rather than back on the positive test for Boldenone, a banned anabolic-androgenic steroid, that earned him the suspension from MLB on March 8. The punishment also included ineligibility for the postseason.

Marte did not explain the circumstances of why he tested positive.

“If I had the answers to that, I would give it. I really don’t know,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot of learning over these past couple of months but I’ve been able to prepare myself a lot to get to this moment and be ready for this moment.”

What did Marte learn and from that, what might change?

“It’s just really the people that were around me,” Marte said. “Those are just the little things. Maybe I was blind at the time. It kind of just opened my eyes to see the people that are around me.”

The Reds haven’t just missed Marte’s contributions. At the halfway point of the 2024 season, they have a 38-43 record while Matt McLain (left shoulder surgery) has played zero games. TJ Friedl (right hamstring), currently on the injured list for the third time for a third different injury, has played only 26 games. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (fractured right hand) is out for the rest of the regular season after 29 games played.

“When you have a big part of your team that goes down, it’s definitely not the same. We definitely need [Marte] in this lineup,” India said.

Unlike the others, Marte’s issue wasn’t injury related. Did he feel responsible for not being able to help the club during his absence?

“No. I don’t feel like I have any responsibility for that,” he replied. “We have a great team here. Things aren’t [always] going to go our way. I think I came at the right time where I am going to give it 100 percent and our team is going to give 100 percent when we go out there and compete.”