Noelvi Marte is so afraid of the Chicago Cubs that he had to cheat

The Chicago Cubs are entering the 2024 season, expecting to be in the middle of contention in the National League Central.

The Milwaukee Brewers won the division last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates should have a slew of top prospects get the call-up this season, the St. Louis Cardinals aren’t likely to be as bad as they were last year and the Cincinnati Reds had their slew of prospects get called up last season.

The Reds were dealt a major blow on Friday as one of their ascending prospects, Noelvi Marte, was supended.

Marte, a consensus top-50 prospect acquired in the trade that sent Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners, will face an 80-game suspension for taking a banned substance.

Last season, Marte was an absolute monster. He hit .316/.366/.456 after getting called up to the big leagues and was likely to play either shortstop or third base, with uber-prospect Elly De La Cruz taking the other. 

In all seriousness, this is a bummer.

The Chicago Cubs won't have to worry about Noelvi Marte during the first half of the season.

You want your team to beat their rivals when those rivals are at the peak of their powers. That being said, there is a certain level of karmic retribution here.

Reds' second baseman, Jonathan India, was quoted earlier this offseason saying that he thinks the Reds will beat the Cubs this year with or without Cody Bellinger because "It's the same team from last year.”

Unfortunately for India, the Reds won’t be the same team from last year for at least the first 80 games of the season because they’ll be without one of their best players.

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