Noelvi Marte’s return doesn’t just deepen Reds lineup, it broadens it

How David Bell sorts this whole thing out remains to be seen.

Noelvi Marte returned to the Cincinnati Reds lineup on Thursday, and returned with oomph. He homered, doubled, stole a bag, scored three runs and drove another in as well, slotting perfectly into the lineup in the #5 spot while also manning 3B on the night.

It marked the latest seamless transition for the Reds lineup this season, an event that sounds lovely on paper but, in reality, means there has once again instability before it. Transition, after all, means that something made way for the latter event, and for this battered and busted Reds lineup that was once again the case.

Jeimer Candelario has been sidelined for several days while dealing with a nagging leg injury, meaning the team’s big free agent signee - and usual resident corner infielder - hit the shelf at the precise time when Marte - a surefire present and future resident corner infielder - made his return. Marte picking up the slack immediately upon returning is refreshing as hell, to be sure, but it means there was once again slack down there that needed up-picking.

How the Reds sort things out when Jeimer’s wheel rolls well again remains to be seen. Against a RHP last night in St. Louis in veteran Miles Mikolas, the Reds rolled Spencer Steer back to 1B and were forced to start Stuart Fairchild in CF against the righty, indicative of the repeated injuries to usual CF TJ Friedl so far this season. This was a lineup that included Nick Martini in LF and Santiago Espinal as the DH, a pair of moves that paid off on the evening despite the stats next to their names suggesting everything otherwise beforehand.

As the Reds, stuck in 4th place in the division and still 5 games under .500, begin to work their way back to presumed ‘healthier’ status, we’ll hopefully see a few things unwind from last night’s surprising performance. Friedl back in CF after his hamstring issue calms down would be a start, as would getting Jake Fraley - himself battling a naggin injury while still on the active roster - back in a corner OF spot. Candelario/Steer would form a formidable DH/1B combo, in theory, now that we know Christian Encarnacion-Strand is likely out for the rest of the year after wrist surgery.

Marte cementing his status as the team’s everyday 3B would, in theory, be the default option here that unlocks the rest of this mess.

Is that a lineup that’s good enough to back this pitching to a run at a postseason spot? I’m still not so sure. It may well be enough to make the front office of the Reds look to add another bat somewhere, however, if last night’s any indication of how adding one more piece that allows flexibility elsewhere lets Nick Krall shop with a wider view.

Noelvi Marte’s return doesn’t make this lineup a world beater, by any means, but it finally provides another piece that will unlock the flexibility this roster was supposed to have before all the injuries dragged it down. That’s just enough to prompt me to put a nebulous title on an article and write it quickly while on vacation.