CINCINNATI -- The Reds placed first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with lower back inflammation. To replace him on the roster, third baseman Noelvi Marte was recalled from Triple-A Louisville.
Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run double in the seventh inning of Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Mariners, but missed a couple of games earlier in the homestand.
¡°We¡¯ve been talking to him all week and trying to manage it," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "We got to a point where we said we were going to revisit after the game last night. It wasn¡¯t getting worse, but it wasn¡¯t getting better. The more we talked to the trainers ¡ and after what he went through last year, it just seems like the right thing to do.¡±
Encarnacion-Strand, who missed all but a month of last season with a fractured right hand, has struggled this season while batting .158 with a .481 OPS and two home runs in 15 games.
Francona said that Encarnacion-Strand would get an epidural for pain relief in his back.
Cincinnati has alternatives for first base without Encarnacion-Stand. Jeimer Candelario has plenty of experience there while Spencer Steer, who has been limited to being the designated hitter as he works back from a 2024 right shoulder injury, could see his first action there in the field soon.
¡°Steer coming back is the biggest. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to be very long," Francona said.
Steer, who began his throwing program late in Spring Training, spent time on the field Thursday morning practicing cut-off throws and other plays.
"He¡¯s actually going to go out there today and have a pretty intense day throwing the ball around the infield," Francona said.
Utility player Santiago Espinal has also been taking ground balls at first base, but has never played the position in a game.
It is not yet known how much time Encarnacion-Strand could miss. This is Marte's second big league stint this season. He was recalled on April 9 and logged three games with two starts before being sent back to Louisville on Tuesday.