Reds’ top prospect suspended 80 games for positive drug test
Votto signs minor league contract with Blue Jays
NEW YORK — Noelvi Marté, a 22-year-old infielder who is the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospect, was suspended for the first 80 games of the season on Friday following a positive test under Major League Baseball’s drug program.
Marté tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone, triggering the first suspension under the big league program since Milwaukee right-hander J.C. Mejía was banned for 162 games on Sept. 20 for a positive test for Stanozolol. Mejía’s suspension was his second under the program.
Marté was expected to be the Reds’ starting third baseman this season, joining Cincinnati’s core of young players that includes Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.
The suspension is without pay. Marté’s salary this season was likely to be just above the $740,000 minimum.
Marté signed with Seattle from the Dominican Republic for a $1.55 million bonus in July 2018. He was traded to the Reds in July 2022 along with three other prospects for All-Star right-hander Luis Castillo.
Marté made his major league debut last Aug. 19 and hit .316 with three homers, 15 RBIs and six stolen bases in 35 games. He batted .279 with 20 doubles, 11 homers, 45 RBIs and 18 steals over three minor league levels last year.
Four players have been disciplined this year under the minor league program.
O CANADA! VOTTO TO JAYS: Joey Votto is hoping for another big league season, this time with his hometown team in Canada.
The 40-year-old first baseman said he has agreed to a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, though there was no immediate announcement from the team. Votto became a free agent last fall after the end of a $251.5 million, 12-year contract with the Reds, the 2010 NL MVP’s only team over 17 major league seasons. Cincinnati declined his $20 million option for 2024.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work my way back to the Major Leagues. It’s even sweeter to attempt this while wearing the uniform of my hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays,” Votto wrote Friday on X.
SANTOS THROWS: Newly acquired Seattle Mariners reliever Gregory Santos threw a light bullpen session Friday, his first since experiencing right lat soreness after throwing off a mound at the the start of spring training three weeks ago.
Jerry Dipoto, the team’s president of baseball operations, has indicated that Santos won’t be ready for opening day in three weeks but should pitch in April. Santos had been playing catch the past week.
The Mariners got the hard-throwing 24-year-old Dominican from the White Sox in a trade at the beginning of February. Santos had a 3.39 ERA with five saves in 60 appearances last year in his rookie season with Chicago.
LOWE STRAIN: Gold Glove first baseman Nathaniel Lowe is the latest starting infielder for the World Series champion Texas Rangers to be sidelined because of injury.
Manager Bruce Bochy said Lowe is dealing with a right oblique strain. The initial timeline for recovery is three to four weeks, and the March 28 opener is less than three weeks away. Lowe, who avoided arbitration with a $7.5 million deal, has played in all but 11 games for the Rangers over the past three seasons.
BANGED-UP NOOTBAAR: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar has two nondisplaced rib fractures from falling into a wall when trying to make a twisting, turning catch in a spring training game. It is unclear whether he will be ready for the season opener March 28.
John Mozeliak, the team’s president of baseball operations, said Friday that scans revealed the fractures. Nootbaar, the expected starting left fielder, has been sidelined since getting hurt last Saturday.