Cincinnati Reds placed the first bass man Christian Encarnacion stand on the 10-day damaged list on Thursday due to lower back inflammation.
In a corresponding feature, the red third bass man Noelvi Marte recalled from Triple-A Louisville.
The 25-year-old Encarnacion string beats .158 (9-for-57) with two home races, five RBI, one walk and 13 strikes in 15 matches.
The Encarnacion string, which only played 29 games last season because of a cracking right hand, missed two matches on Saturday and Sunday. He played Tuesday and went 0-for-4 in an 8-4 home victory over Seattle and went 1-for-4 with a two-run double in a 5-3 loss to Mariners on Wednesday.
“We’ve talked to him all week and tried to handle it,” Reds Manager Terry Francona said. “We came to a point where we said we would go through after the match last night. It didn’t get any worse, but it didn’t get any better. The more we talked to the coaches … and after what he went through last year it just seems the right thing to do.”
Encarnacion-Strand is a career .230 Hitter with 17 home races and 58 RBI in 107 games since he made his MLB debut with Reds in July 2023.
Marte, 23, has gone 1-for-6 in three matches this season. He has played 104 career games since 2023 and has beaten .244 with seven homers and 33 RBI.
The reds can play Jeimer Candelario at the first base and expect Spencer Steer to return to the field soon. Steer, who suffered a right shoulder injury last year, has been limited to being the designated hitting. He practiced exercises in Infield on Thursday morning.
“Steering that comes back is the biggest. I don’t think he’ll be very tall,” Francona said.
Tool player Santiago Espinal, 30, while he never played the first base in 478 Major League games, has also practiced the position.
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