Louisville's season is done with a loss on Sunday, so the Reds could get reinforcements soon.

There are six pitchers from the Bats on the 40-man roster: Homer Bailey, Danny Herrera, Todd Coffey, Bobby Livingston, Daryl Thompson and Tyler Pelland.

There are four position players on the 40-man roster: catcher Craig Tatum, shortstop Paul Janish, second baseman Danny Richar and infielder Adam Rosales.

If the Reds could find room on the 40-man roster for center fielder Drew Stubbs and reliever Josh Roenicke, it could benefit both the Reds and those two players.

Stubbs was the Reds' first-round pick in 2006 (eighth overall) and had struggled for much of his minor league career, but improved this season when he was moved up first to Class AA Chattanooga and then Class AAA Louisville.

In 86 games at Sarasota, Stubbs hit .261/.366/.406. In 26 games with the Lookouts, Stubbs hit .315/.400/.402 and in 19 games at Louisville, hit .293/.354/.480.

Stubbs is the best defensive center fielder in the Reds' organization, including the big league team.

The Reds would need to make a move on the 40-man roster for Stubbs to be eligible for a call-up, but what is Corey Patterson doing other than collecting a paycheck and flirting with the Mendoza Line? If there's no plan to re-sign Patterson (and really, why should there be?), why keep him around? Pay him his money, give him a handshake and see what Stubbs can do in Great American Ball Park.

Stubbs is scheduled to play in the Arizona Fall Leauge (starting Oct. 8). That experience could benefit Stubbs, but not as much as a stint in a Reds uniform.

Roenicke, a right-handed reliever selected in the 10th round of the 2006 draft, was a combined 6-2 with 13 saves and a 2.80 ERA at Chattanooga and Louisville. He pitches a total of 61 innings, an increase over the 46.2 he pitched in 2007, which could be reason enough to shut him down and not bring him up to Cincinnati.