There's absolutely no reason for the Reds to put Jose Peraza on the Opening Day Roster.
None.
Peraza has 42 days of MLB service time (for an excellent read on service time, go here: http://redlegnation.com/2016/03/30/time-is-money-and-time/). But if that's TLDR... you need 172 days on the Major League roster to get a year of service. 6 years of service makes you a free agent.
So if Peraza spends roughly 2 months at AAA, he stays in Cincinnati for an entire extra season. So instead of losing him after the 2021 season, they'd have control for an extra year.
There's also the small issue of THERE'S NOWHERE FOR HIM TO PLAY. 2B, SS, and CF are manned, and even if you can spot start him once a week in those positions... that's only 3 starts a week. It's not like you can use him as a defensive replacement for BP, Cozart, or Hamilton either.
So even in the best case scenario where he gets 3 starts a week for 2 months... you're trading maybe 100 plate appearances of a 21-year old for 600 plate appearances in 2022. Is there a planet where that makes any sense?
And if somehow you still aren't convinced... there's the small issue that Ivan De Jesus is a better 2016 option. "Ivan De Jesus?!?" I hear you scoff. Yes, Ivan De Jesus. De Jesus has played 2B, SS, and 3B at the MLB level. He's also a better hitter than Peraza right now.
De Jesus 2015 AAA .303/.378/.384 (.762 OPS)
De Jesus 2016 ST .280/.333/.400 (.733 OPS)
Peraza 2015 AAA .293/.316/.378 (.694 OPS)
Peraza 2016 ST .286/.305/.393 (.698 OPS)
Is Jose Peraza going to be better than Ivan De Jesus someday? The Reds seem to think so. But in a lost 2016 for the Redlegs, there's no reason to lose a year of Peraza too.
