Day after surgery, Latos reports no pain in knee

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Barely 24 hours from having knee surgery, and one might not be able to tell that Reds pitcher Mat Latos had anything done to his leg.

On Friday, Latos had minor surgery to fix a meniscus tear in his left knee. On Saturday, he was walking without crutches and without a limp.

"Everything feels good," Latos said. "I'm doing stability exercises. I'm able to balance on that leg. I'm walking. It's unfortunate what happened. It was a freak thing. It wasn't anything I could do as far as getting into shape. I couldn't have prepared any more than I did."

Latos, who had been progressing without issue from October arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow, was throwing earlier this week and slipped.

"My foot stayed planted and I just twisted and my foot didn't give," Latos said. "My knee just kept twisting with all of my body weight on it. I just felt a pop and we're here now."

Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek expected Latos to resume his throwing program 10 days after the surgery. What this does for Latos' readiness for Opening Day remains uncertain. Latos declined to put a timetable on anything.

"There's really no rush to get back. We're not going to win a championship in April," Latos said. "That being said, I would love to be out there Opening Day and pitching against the Cardinals. I guess a good sign is you see me up and walking around. There is no limp. There is no pain. I haven't taken any pain medication since the surgery. Everything feels good. Everything feels comfortable.

"We're just going to play it by ear. Kremchek says seven to 10 days when I'm actually able to start throwing on it. He's the doctor, not me. I just throw a baseball for a living."