The Reds made a change Tuesday that says as much about the state of Noelvi Marte’s season as it does about where they need to find offense.
Marte was optioned to Triple-A Louisville for the second time this year after another rough stretch at the plate. Through the season, the Cincinnati outfielder is hitting .189/.229/.321.
Since his early-June recall, he has posted a 24.7% strikeout rate and a 54 wRC+, numbers that explain why the Reds decided to send him back down. Catcher Will Banfield was promoted to take his spot on the active roster.
Banfield had already been added to the Reds’ 40-man roster earlier this season. He spent time with the club in 2025 and returned to the organization on a minor-league deal this past winter. At Louisville this year, he played in 79 games and hit .262/.306/.425 with 11 home runs.
The bigger lineup ripple may come somewhere else, though. Banfield’s arrival could help the Reds give Tyler Stephenson a breather behind the plate, and that matters because Stephenson has been swinging one of the hottest bats in the lineup since the All-Star break. Over that stretch, he’s hit .276/.368/.592 with six home runs, 15 RBI, and a 154 wRC+.
There’s also the workload. Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith noted that Stephenson has caught 96 games this season, the second-most in all of baseball.
Stephenson told Goldsmith, “I enjoy it. It’s definitely a lot.
But the process and everything that goes into it behind the scenes to get my body right, I do everything I can. I don’t feel great every day, but that’s the nature of 162."
In Other News...
Reds Suddenly Have More Riding On Tyler Stephenson Than Expected
Alfredo Dunos injury has changed the Reds catching outlook faster than anyone expected. The organizations top catching prospect hurt his right hamstring in late July and could miss the rest of the minor-league season, leaving Cincinnati with a thinner pipeline at a position it had hoped would get steadier as the year went on. For a club trying to line up its long-term roster, that puts more attention on Tyler Stephenson, who remains the most established catching option in the system.
Stephenson is also moving toward free agency, which makes the timing awkward for the Reds. With Duno sidelined and no obvious immediate successor ready to take over, the front office suddenly has to think beyond the next few months and decide whether to keep Stephenson in place, add a veteran stopgap, or both. However they handle it, the injury has turned the catching position into a much bigger offseason question than it looked like a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Doubleheader Loss Just Triggered A Roster Question Fans Didn't Expect
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The roster fallout came quickly after the game, too, as Cincinnati moved on from Kent Emanuel and filled that spot with Zach Maxwell. It is the kind of mid-doubleheader shuffle that can get overlooked in the rush of a long day, but for a team trying to sort out its pitching picture, it adds another layer to a loss that already raised more questions than it answered. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Just Showed How Thin Their Pitching Depth Has Become
The Reds had to dig deep for pitching help ahead of their doubleheader against the Cardinals, turning to Zach McCambley as the 27th man while also making room on the staff for another arm. With injuries stacking up and minor league roster constraints tightening the options, Cincinnatis depth has been stretched to the point where even the next-man-up list is starting to look pretty thin.
Kent Emanuels arrival underscores how far the Reds have had to reach for coverage. The 34-year-old left-hander has big league experience, and he was just coming off a six-inning start for Triple-A Louisville, a reminder that Cincinnati is leaning on experienced stopgaps to get through the day while the pitching situation continues to test its depth. [Read more 🡒]