Noelvi Marte and Carlos Jorge are playing in the Dominican Republic this winter to hone their craft. They are both on the Gigantes del Cibao, and they have been showing out early so far in the LIDOM season.

Sunday Funday

Sunday’s Dominican Winter League slate featured a matchup between four Reds players: Noelvi Marte and Carlos Jorge (Gigantes) against Juan Brito and Francisco Urbaez (Toros). The Gigantes won the game 13-7 behind big performances by Jorge and Marte.

Carlos Jorge played center field, led off the game, and went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. He also flashed his speed by swiping two bags. Jorge's highlight at the plate was hitting his second home run of the season in the second inning. The home run traveled 341 feet with an exit velocity of 99.5 mpg and a launch angle of 40 degrees. Crazy stuff.

Jorge also provided a quality defensive play in the top of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, a deep fly ball to the wall in center nearly left the yard. But Jorge was there to leap and grab the final out of the inning and keep the Toros from scoring more runs. This play happened the same day that Carlos Jorge was named MiLB Gold Glove winner for outstanding defense in 2026.

Noelvi Marte also had a big day for Gigantes, and so far in the small sample size of the winter season, Marte has put in a couple of big performances. On Sunday, Marte doubled, walked, drove in a run, and stole a base. Overall, Marte is hitting .360 in 12 games with an OPS of .862. This is a critical offseason for Marte, as he spent a good amount of time at Triple-A Louisville working on his pitch recognition and plate discipline.

Defensively, Marte showed off his strong arm at the top of the first inning. Fellow Cincinnati Red Juan Brito hit a ball off the wall and tried to stretch a single into a double, but Marte was not having it. He threw out Brito with an excellent laser from right-center field.

Other Winter Ball Action

Kevin Abel is pitching in the Mexican Pacific League for Guasave. He made his second start of the season on Tuesday. He pitched 4.1 innings, gave up 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 6 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He made another start Sunday night in a doubleheader. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 3 hits, two earned runs, three walks, and 6 strikeouts in the win. His ERA is 1.26 for the season.