Cincinnati Reds keep Patrick Kivlehan in Cincinnati utilizing a roster spot for a high average pinch hitter

The Cincinnati Reds could not justify letting Patrick Kivlehan return to Louisville at the end of spring training.

The Cincinnati Reds rebuilt the bench following the trade of Brandon Phillips to the Atlanta Braves. That did a couple of things. It meant that their super bench player, Jose Peraza, was going to be in the starting line-up.

More importantly for a player like former Seattle Mariner top prospect Patrick Kivlehan, it meant that the Reds needed to find a true back-up center fielder. With Peraza starting at second base there was no longer a true center fielder on the bench. That gave Arismendy Alcantara his job and then Kivlehan in some ways his job as well. They were both part of a…