ATLANTA (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds placed third baseman Noelvi Marte on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain on Wednesday.
Manager Terry Francona said Marte was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain, which is considered moderate but more serious than a mild strain, “so he will be a little while.”
Marte was scratched minutes before the first pitch of the Atlanta Braves' 2-1 win over the Reds in 10 innings on Tuesday night. He was reported to have left side discomfort and the oblique injury was disclosed on Wednesday.
Marte was hitting .294 with three homers, 17 RBIs and four stolen bases.
The Reds placed another third baseman, Jeimer Candelario, on the injured list on April 30 with a lumbar spine strain. Santiago Espinal was the fill-in starter for Marte for the second consecutive game on Wednesday night.
The Reds recalled outfielder Rece Hinds from Triple-A Louisville before Wednesday night's game against the Braves. Hinds is starting in right field after Francona said outfielder Jake Fraley would have an MRI for tenderness in his left calf.
Francona said Fraley felt discomfort while leaving the batter's box on a ninth-inning groundout on Tuesday night. “He didn't know if he cramped or overextended,” Francona said, adding on Wednesday that Fraley was “just not quite where he needs to be.”
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Washington Nationals' CJ Abrams, right, is tagged out as he is caught stealing by Cincinnati Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte, left, during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Cincinnati Reds' Noelvi Marte throws to first base for an out in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Monday, April 28, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Philip Rivers has made the postgame walk to answer tough questions dozens of times over his previous 17 NFL seasons.
This time seemed different.
With the Indianapolis Colts having been eliminated from the postseason for a fifth consecutive year even before Rivers and his teammates took the field Sunday, the 44-year-old Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist knows he may have taken his last snap.
“It’s been an absolute blast for three weeks and if I go back now and said, ‘All right, now you know everything that’s going to happen, what are you going to do? I’d do it all again,’” Rivers said after the Colts lost 23-17 to Jacksonville. “So, yeah, if it’s the last one, it’s the last one. I thought the last one was walking off the field in Buffalo (in January 2021), walking up that tunnel and I was fine with that. I had tears those few days after that and I was at peace with that being the last one. So, certainly, if it is (the last one), I got three more bonus games that I never saw coming.”
Rivers provided two elements the Colts (8-8) needed when they brought him out of a five-year retirement. His passion energized the locker room after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, and he gave the Colts a chance to pull themselves out of a historic second-half swoon in which they became just the sixth team since 1970 — and the first in 30 years — to start 7-1 and miss the playoffs.
But Rivers has lost all three of his starts, with the Colts' overall skid now at six games.
His late interception at Seattle ended the Colts' bid for a miracle rally. And an interception Sunday on a tipped ball allowed the Jags (12-4) to kick the tiebreaking field goal with 6:58 to play.
While Rivers took accountability for both miscues with his typical down-home demeanor, he knows he's not the face of the Colts' future.
So with one meaningless game remaining next weekend at Houston, the Colts could give Rivers one more start, but it might make sense for them to take a look at Anthony Richardson — the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023 — or rookie Riley Leonard. Richardson has not been activated from the injured reserve list but has started practicing.
“I'll figure that out Tuesday,” coach Shane Steichen said.
If Rivers' career is over, again, five years after he left the first time, he has no regrets.
He rented a place in Indianapolis, moved his entire family back to Indy for the final month of the season and brought dozens of players from St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama — where he's the head coach — to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch his home finale.
In career start No. 423, Rivers surpassed Hall of Famer Warren Moon as the fourth-oldest quarterback to start in the NFL. Rivers played at 44 years, 20 days; Moon was 44 years and eight days.
If he makes start No. 424, Rivers would pass Vinny Testaverde — 44 years and 26 days — as the third oldest, trailing only Steve DeBerg and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Rivers ranks sixth in league history in TD passes with 425 and is eighth on the career yards passing list with 63,984 — just behind Matthew Stafford and 105 yards away from moving past two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger.
Rivers knows he may not get that chance.
“I’m going to be on board and supportive of whatever the organization, Shane and whoever, however that decision is going to come to be,” Rivers said. “I’m sure I’ll have some conversation. It won’t just be a blind-side Tuesday conversation for me. And I’m going to be on board to do what’s best for the guys.”
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers jogs off the field following an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Mullens (14) talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) following an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
