{"id":33577,"date":"2025-05-17T10:13:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T10:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/33577\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T10:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T10:13:10","slug":"as-noelvi-marte-lands-on-the-injured-list-santiago-espinal-takes-over-at-third-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/33577\/","title":{"rendered":"As Noelvi Marte lands on the injured list, Santiago Espinal takes over at third base"},"content":{"rendered":"

Explore\u2018Crisp\u2019 Reds beat up White Sox, snap 3-game losing streak<\/a><\/p>\n

Marte went on to earn his old job back, playing well and stepping back in as the Reds\u2019 every day third baseman. But as soon as he had momentum again, he suffered a Grade Two oblique strain that will keep him out for several weeks. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a really good job,\u201d Francona said. \u201cThere\u2019s something to be said for \u2014 when somebody says they\u2019re confident, and you actually go work, that\u2019s how you attain confidence. It was pretty obvious that he had worked really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Credit: AP<\/p>\n

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Credit: AP<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson suffered a Grade One oblique strain and missed seven weeks. The Reds haven\u2019t set a timeline to return yet for Marte, but the injury is a frustrated one for the talented 23-year-old. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult,\u201d Marte said via interpreter Tomas Vera. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing you can do now. Now, you have to work hard to get back on the field as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marte felt a tweak in his oblique fielding a ground ball in early May, and he aggravated it a few days later while swinging in the batting cage before the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was feeling a little discomfort, even when I was laughing and moving around I felt something,\u201d Marte said.<\/p>\n

ExplorePete Rose honored with celebration, Q&A with team Hall of Famers on Pete Rose Night<\/a><\/p>\n

Marte was one of the Reds\u2019 most consistent players. He was hitting .294, showing some power as well as great range at third base. His swing decisions had improved, he was working higher-quality at-bats and he significantly cut down on throwing errors. <\/p>\n

Marte is one of the Reds\u2019 most talented players, but he had to become more consistent. He did that. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the difference in the way he takes care of his business in practice and the games,\u201d Santiago Espinal said. \u201cHe\u2019s confident. That\u2019s the most important thing. The mental side of it. He\u2019s at peace with himself mentally. I\u2019m more proud of him than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Credit: AP<\/p>\n

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Credit: AP<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank God because he helped me come back and feel myself,\u201d Marte said. \u201cDoing what I\u2019m doing right now, I\u2019m confident in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with Marte now injured, the Reds have three third basemen on the injured list. Marte joins Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario. In their absences, Espinal has received the bulk of the playing time at third base. <\/p>\n

Espinal has been solid, and he continues to make an impact as a utility player. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate we have (Espinal) here because it\u2019s very valuable,\u201d Francona said. \u201cMore valuable than the numbers, and the numbers are good. I remember during the winter talking to (general manager Brad Meador and president of baseball operations Nick Krall). They were like, \u2018You\u2019re going to want to find ways to get him in the lineup.\u2019 That\u2019s the way they explained it to me. That was a very good way to explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cincinnati<\/p>\n

Credit: AP<\/p>\n

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Credit: AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Explore\u2018Crisp\u2019 Reds beat up White Sox, snap 3-game losing streak Marte went on to earn his old job…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[537,5,12528,535,50,4259,6095,4,557,536,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-33577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-athletics","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-cardinals-reds-baseball","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-reds","13":"tag-cincinnatireds","14":"tag-mens-sports","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-professional-baseball","17":"tag-reds","18":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114522646664478916","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}