Noelvi Marte's Winter League development says plenty about the Reds' plans

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That would appear to the Cincinnati Reds' motto when it comes to their bullish stance on Noelvi Marte. Earlier this week, the former Reds top prospect was the starting centerfielder for Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League. Interestingly enough, he was playing alongside former Cincinnati slugger, and one-hit wonder, Aristides Aquino.

Despite Marte's struggles in center field last season, this development is hardly something to fret about. Many players see time all over the diamond, at various positions, during Winter League play.

But for Marte, this could give Reds fans a clue as to what the team hopes to see from their fallen star heading into 2027. The outfielder spent more time in the minors than the majors this past season, and the team was none too kind with their evaluations during a recent press event.

“Noelvi Marte was bad,” Krall said to Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith on October 1. “We should have sent him down earlier than we did."

Well that was straight and to the point, wasn't it? It's hard to find any fault in that statement either. If you doubt that, one look at Marte's stat line will tell you that Krall hit the nail on the head. The outfielder hit just .189/.229/.321 in 63 games in the bigs last season. Marte was supposed to be a middle-of-the-order bat for Terry Francona last season, but instead he spent most of the year at Triple-A Louisville.

The Reds are sticking to their plan of Noelvi Marte in center field

The Reds seem unwilling to give up on Marte just yet, and that's probably the right approach. He's still just 24 years old, has minor league options remaining, is pre-arbitration eligible, and posted a respectable .332/.366/.498 slash line with nine home runs, 42 RBI, and a 125 wRC+ in 66 games with the Louisville Bats last season.

Marte getting reps in center field this winter is a bold, but worthwhile strategy. The worst possible outcome is that he proves he's not cut out to play up the middle, and the Reds can then focus on keeping him in right field moving forward.

The biggest concern for Marte heading into play this winter isn't his glove, it's his bat. His 41.2% chase rate is unsustainable, and until he fixes that, it doesn't matter what position he plays.

The Reds are right to allow Marte to experiment at various spots around the outfield during the Dominican Winter League, but cutting down on the swings and misses will be far more important to determining his future role with this organization.

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