Noelvi Marte's surprising return to Reds roster could be brief, and here's why

Tuesday's roster shuffle saw Will Benson return to the Cincinnati Reds active roster. That was somewhat expected. The outfielder understood the assignment after being optioned to Triple-A Louisville, and Benson took his demotion in stride while hitting .342/.357/.585 during his first week-plus in the minors.

But the addition of Noelvi Marte to the 26-man roster was rather puzzling. While the former top prospect shined during the start of the minor league season, hitting .357/.425/.529 through nine games, his performance over the past year had been dreadful.

Marte is coming off a horrible 2024 campaign (.210/.248/.301), an awful showing while playing the Dominican Winter League (.227/.303/.351), and a forgettable performance during spring training (.150/.182/.400). Given all that, plus his 80-game suspension last season, one would've assumed that Cincinnati planned to take a restrained approach with Marte this season. That does not seem to be the case.

Noelvi Marte's surprising return to Reds roster could be brief, and here's why

Though some Reds fans undoubtedly hope to see Marte supplant Jeimer Candelario at third base — and he might — Andrew Abbott's impending return to the Cincinnati rotation this weekend could see the Reds infielder optioned back to Triple-A after just three games.

The Reds already optioned Carson Spiers back to Louisville, signaling that Abbott is ready to rejoin the team. Nick Martinez will take the ball for the Reds during Wednesday's series finale against the San Francisco Giants, and Brady Singer has already been tabbed as Cincinnati's starter for Friday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates back at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds will need to make another roster move ahead of Saturday's contest, so unless he absolutely crushes the competition over the next two games, Marte could be sent back to Louisville rather quickly.

Will the Reds option Noelvi Marte or Jacob Hurtubise later this week?

The Reds could always choose to option Jacob Hurtubise to the minors, but that would shrink Cincinnati's contingent of outfielders. Even without Marte, the Reds have three players (Candelario, Santiago Espinal, and Gavin Lux) who can hold their own at the hot corner.

It is worth noting, however, that if this move was intended to be little more than a placeholder until Abbott's upcoming start on Saturday, the Reds could have chosen to call up Tyler Callihan instead of Marte. The former third-round pick is hitting .297/.409/.514 at Triple-A this season.

Given Marte's struggles the past 12 months, his call-up just feels rushed. The hope among much of the fanbase is that Cincinnati would've eased Marte back into the spotlight rather than thrusting him into a lineup that has struggled to score runs this season. Hopefully the young infielder doesn't try to shoulder the load himself, and just allows the game to come to him.

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