MLB Rumors: Cincinnati Reds call up top prospect Noelvi Marte
The Luis Castillo trade is starting to pay off for Cincinnati Reds, who called up their top prospect Noelvi Marte on Saturday morning. Marte was slashing .279/.358/.454 with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases across all levels this season. While he had been playing shortstop prior, Marte made the move over to third base in Triple-A, as the Reds believe that position to be a better fit for his frame long-term.
Marte is best known for his bat and tremendous power from the right side of the plate. MLB Pipeline details this in their summary of Marte's tools as a top-tier prospect:
"There are few prospects with more raw power than Marte, and he's continuing to learn how to tap into it, with 36 homers over the last two seasons. It shows up more to his pull side as he's good at barreling the ball out front. He draws walks and keeps his strikeouts to a minimum but can still improve on swing decisions and overall consistency in following his gameplan, though it should be noted he's always been quite young for his level."
Marte is one of several top-level prospects Cincinnati has called up this season as part of its youth movement, which includes Elly De La Cruz, who is currently playing shortstop. It's unclear where exactly Marte fits in long term, though as previously mentioned he was playing third base in the minor leagues of late.
MLB Rumors: Chicago Cubs DFA veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart
Eventually, the Cubs were going to have to choose between youth and experience at backup catcher. Yan Gomes has been excellent this season in replacing Willson Contreras, a task that was not easy given the former Cubs catcher's longevity with the franchise and presence in the locker room. Gomes has done that and then some, adding a surprising presence at the plate on his own accord, rather than just acting as a solid defensive catcher.
Tucker Barnhart was signed this offseason as Gomes's backup, which made a lot of sense at the time. Miguel Amaya, who has since outperformed Barnhart, was a top prospect and had undergone Tommy John surgery after the pandemic.
However, Barnhart hasn't performed up to par at the plate. As MLB Trade Rumors notes, Barnhart has been dwarfed by Amaya's production:
"Unfortunately, the results at the plate haven't been there for Barnhart this year. He's hit just .202/.285/.257 for a wRC+ of 53, striking out in 34.1% of his appearances, easily the worst such mark of his career. That's coincided with a bounceback season from Gomes and a strong debut from Amaya. The former is hitting .269/.310/.433 for a 98 wRC+ with the latter at .245/.368/.383 and a 113 wRC+."
Amaya is sound enough to start for most teams. With Gomes a free agent at the end of the season, he could even become the Cubs starting backstop by 2024. Barnhart was no longer needed, and could be claimed via waivers now that the trade deadline has passed.
MLB Rumors: Should Braves fans be concerned about Sean Murphy?
Sean Murphy is a warrior behind home plate, especially of late. Per Mark Bowman, Murphy has been hit five times in his last 15 plate appearances, and was even slightly injured on a backswing gone wrong on Sunday night.
As much as Murphy wants to contribute to this team on a daily basis, some time off could do him some good. It also helps that the Braves backup catcher, Travis d'Arnaud, would start for most MLB teams.
When the Braves traded for Murphy, they did so to create one of the best catching duos in recent memory. Murphy himself has been one of the best players in baseball, period, in 2023, and most seasons would be among the NL MVP frontrunners. Sadly, his own teammates (Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson) have taken that honor away from him.
d'Arnaud signed a new contract this season and is expected to be around for the long haul, despite some pundits assuming he would be traded before the deadline. It's these moments — the dog days of summer with Murphy taking a beating — where d'Arnaud could be most valuable.