The Reds announced Friday that infielder/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan and right-hander Deck McGuire have been sent outright to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Both can elect minor league free agency. Cincinnati also reinstated lefty Brandon Finnegan and righty Anthony DeSclafani from the 60-day disabled list, so their 40-man roster remains at 33 players for the time being.
Kivlehan, 28 next month, tallied a career-high 204 plate appearances but posted a bleak .208/.304/.399 batting line in that time. He showed some pop, hitting nine homers with five doubles and a triple, but the former Mariners/Rangers prospect also fanned in 30 percent of his plate appearances. Kivlehan has experience at both corner infield and outfield positions, and he’s a career .255/.308/.437 hitter in 223 Triple-A games.
The 28-year-old McGuire is a known name to some thanks to his No. 11 overall selection out of Georgia Tech by the Blue Jays back in the 2010 draft. He’s yet to live up to that draft billing, struggling greatly in Triple-A for the Jays, Athletics, Dodgers and Cardinals before landing in the Reds organization this past winter.
While McGuire spent the year in Double-A rather than the minors’ top level, he notched a strong 2.79 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 with a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate through 168 innings (27 starts). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in September, tossing 13 2/3 innings with 11-to-2 K/BB ratio and notching his first big league victory along the way.
