There's more bad news for the Cincinnati Reds with regards to infield prospect Noelvi Marte.
Not only was Marte suspended for 80 games because of a failed PED test, he also can't play now in the postseason, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reminds us:
The Cincinnati Reds’ quest to win the NL Central for the first time since 2012 took a hit when Noelvi Marte, their starting third baseman, was suspended 80 games for testing positive for Boldenone, a PED. He also won’t be eligible for the postseason roster.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Nick Krall, Reds president of baseball operations.
Given their rash of excellent young players, the Reds will be a trendy pick to get to the playoffs this year, and to not have Marte will be a huge gut punch if they get there.
In his absence, they'll need to use Jeimer Candelario at third base.
Marte made his major league debut in 2023. He played in 35 games for the Reds, hitting .316 with three homers, 15 RBI and six stolen bases.
Because he hasn't played enough games to graduate out of the MLB Top 100 prospect list, he enters the year as the No. 21 overall prospect in baseball (No. 1 in the organization).
The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:
Just 22 for all of the 2024 season, Marte is still a bit mercurial as a player, but he made strides in being a more consistent offensive performer last season. The Reds challenged him to make better swing decisions when he got to Triple-A and he showed more aptitude in making adjustments, which led to his callup to the big leagues. In the Minors, he’s never struck out much and continued to draw walks, which will help him improve his ability to tap into his considerable raw power. It still shows up mostly to his pull side, but he’s shown he has the acumen to drive the ball to all fields.
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