Terry Francona’s most bewildering lineup decision of 2026 shows Reds’ distrust in Noelvi Marte

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona waited until the final series before the All-Star break to roll out his most bizarre lineup of the 2026 season. Spencer Steer — who's known for his versatility — will be making the start in center field on Friday night against the Chicago Cubs.

Steer came up through the minor leagues as an infielder, and is said to be most comfortable at second base. During his time in the big leagues, however, Steer's moved all over the diamond and was even a Gold Glove finalist at first base last season. But Friday's game against the Cubs will represent the first time in his professional career that he'll be playing center field.

The Reds are currently without Blake Dunn and Dane Myers, and Matt McLain — who'd been logging some innings in center field recently — landed on the IL Friday afternoon with a calf injury. TJ Friedl can obviously play center field, but with left-hander Shota Imanaga on the bump for Chicago, Francona obviously prefers to have Steer's right-handed bat in the lineup.

The Reds obviously have no faith in Noelvi Marte playing center field

Steer being sent out to a position he's never played professionally shows the type of confidence Francona and the Reds coaching staff have in his adaptability (I guess). But it says even more about their lack of trust in Noelvi Marte's ability to play center field.

Don't forget, Reds fans, Marte was moved to right field midway through the 2025 season and spent a considerable amount of time in center field during spring training. He also logged a number of innings in center after being optioned to Triple-A earlier this season, and the coaching staff thought he had enough athletic ability to make the switch.

But Marte made two horrendous gaffes while playing center field last month and hasn't seen time there since. If Francona is willing to move Steer to center field over Marte for Friday's game against the Cubbies, that tells you everything you need about the manager's confidence in his young outfielder.

It also tells you that Francona has zero faith in Friedl's ability to find success against left-handed pitching. While never Friedl's strong suit, he still managed a .243/.330/.341 slash line against southpaws in 2025. This season, he's hitting just .167/.219/.167 with a 4 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow