Noelvi Marte just revived a frustrating Reds trend that won't go away

The Cincinnati Reds have a bad habit of trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, and Noelvi Marte is just the latest example. Marte misplayed two fly balls during the Reds' 9-1 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday afternoon, and was eventually replaced by Dane Myers in the ninth inning.

Marte, who came up through the Cincinnati farm system as an infielder, was moved to right field late last season. Fans may remember the season-saving catch that he made during the final week of the 2025 campaign to rob Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Bryan Reynolds of a game-tying home run, but his adjustment from the infield dirt to the outfield grass has not been without its challenges.

This spring, the Reds announced that they were going to give Marte increased reps in center field — citing his athleticism as the reason for the change. But as it turns out, there's more to being a good defender than just God-given athletic ability.

During Marte's brief introduction to center field, he's been worth -3 defensive runs saved (DRS) and -1 outs above average (OAA). Both Myers and fellow outfielder Blake Dunn have been far superior defensively.

But Marte is just the latest in a long line of players that have failed to transition from being a career infielder to a trial-by-fire outfielder. Maybe it's time for the Reds to stop converting infielders and start drafting, developing, and/ or signing true outfielders.

The Reds need to stop this ridiculous experiment with Noelvi Marte

Outside of Marte, the most recent Reds' example of attempting to turn an infielder into an outfielder is Spencer Steer. Throughout his entire professional career, Steer roamed about on the infield dirt, seeing most of his time in the minor leagues at second base.

It wasn't until 2023 — after an influx of infield talent that included Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Elly De La Cruz, and Matt McLain made it to the majors — that the Reds' leadership decided to give Steer reps in the outfield. His versatility has been on full display over the past three years, but -12 DRS and -10 OAA in the outfield suggests that he's better suited playing first or second base.

Nick Senzel is another name that Reds fans are sure to remember. The former first-round pick was drafted as a third baseman, but because of the presence of Eugenio Suárez at the hot corner, Cincinnati decided to transform Senzel into the team's starting centerfielder in 2019.

In total, Senzel was worth -21 DRS and 1 OAA across five Major League seasons in center field, and many Reds fans blame his lack of durability on the position change from third base to the outfield. Senzel never played more than 110 games during his tenure in Cincinnati, and appeared in just 377 out of a possible 708 contests (53.2%).

Jose Barrero famously failed to live up to the hype after being dubbed the Reds' "shortstop of the future" in 2022. He was beat out by journeyman infielder Kyle Farmer, so the Reds decided to give Barrero multiple chances to stick in center field. He never made the transition and suffered a serious injury while playing the center field for the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in 2024.

There are others. Santiago Espinal and Gavin Lux were each given chances to prove they could fill in as a corner outfielder despite spending their entire careers up the middle of the infield. The Reds even talked about converting Jonathan India into an outfielder prior to McLain's spring training injury in 2024.

Marte's failure to adjust to the outfield should be the last straw. Nick Krall and the Reds' front office need to stop trying to put a quart into a pint pot. It hasn't worked yet, and it's never going to work.

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