I am not disagreeing.. but it is an interesting situation, Suarez looks penciled in at 3b.. Now you have Peraza and Herra as middle infielders too.
My guess (which is not any better than yours).. They will play Peraza at SS and give Alf time. With Herrera to play 2b after BP is gone, and Peraza to hold down SS, there is no real reason to rush Alf now.
Honesty, the difference between Peraza or Alf starting at SS (suppose one reaches his ceiling and the other doesn't) is not likely to make a huge impact on the timeline of when we contend or not. I think they both have the potential to be average or slightly above average, but obviously, it is unlikely that either is an impact player. Of course, they could both end up being below average too.
I guess the point is.. I think acquiring Herrara may have changed the timeline/plan.
If Alf makes his debut at 24 or 27 years old, I guess it really doesn't make much of a difference. Sure, you'd love for him to be ready younger, but bottom line is we are looking at a glove guy that we hope will hit adequately.. Maybe waiting 3-4 years will let the Reds harvest more "good" years from Alf. I guess I don't see a reason to fast track Alf and let him learn on the job, although you are right, the Reds may disagree with me.