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Latos stretching out long toss before mound work

CINCINNATI -- Reds starting pitcher Mat Latos, who has been dealing with the setback of a flexor mass strain in his right forearm the past few weeks, has yet to move from flat-ground throwing to a mound.

"We have tentative dates, but first we want to accomplish getting him to his regular long toss, completely pain free, no issues, no inhibitions or whatever," manager Bryan Price said. "We have a timetable that is a grab bag right now."

Latos resumed throwing last week and reached long-toss distances of 90 feet Monday. He hoped to get on a bullpen mound by week's end if he reached 120 feet, but Price would like Latos to stretch out some more.

"If you've ever been out there to watch Mat play long toss, it's not 120 feet. It's quite a bit longer than that," Price said. "It doesn't have to be his maximum distance of long toss, but I think 120 feet would be fairly conservative length-wise. You can learn a lot about long toss. Long toss will tell you a lot. If you're uninhibited and can throw for distance, I think that is the best test before a guy gets on the mound. I think he'll get a bit further than 120 before we sign off on getting him on the mound."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon.
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