For three months I have wondered how the reaction to Noelvi Marte testing positive for Boldenone would have been different had the order of cataclysmic events been different in Cincinnati Reds spring camp in Goodyear.
Marte, the top prospect in the system according to most everyone, was nabbed on March 8th, an 80-game suspension levied his way. It was a blow, to be sure, as Marte’s breakout cameo in 2023 had him ranked quite high among odds-makers as a potential National League Rookie of the Year winner in 2024. The Reds, though, had held tight to their horde of young position players in lieu of making trades all winter, and the depth within their infield ranks softened the blow to almost shrug level.