Bruce making strides in rehab from knee surgery

PHILADELPHIA -- Reds right fielder Jay Bruce continues to make rapid progress since his May 5 arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. On Friday, Bruce began performing agility drills and followed up on Saturday by shagging fly balls in the outfield for the first time.

"Medium level, though. Nothing too aggressive," Bruce said. "It felt good, a little awkward, just because I haven't done it. I'm still obviously recovering. I felt good, running around, no problems at all. I took it easy. I made some cuts and stuff like that."

Bruce, who resumed taking batting practice on Tuesday, also hit on the field Saturday after working in the field. He is expected to hit in a simulated game pitched by Mat Latos on Tuesday in Washington.

"Absolutely no pain," Bruce said. "Hitting felt the most normal it has in a long time. So that's awesome. Throwing is good. Everything is great. Everything's going really well right now. The running is going to be the part that's going to have to progress and I'm going to have to listen to my body. Today, though, I did some strides and had them open up a little bit to chase some balls down."

Originally, Bruce was expected to miss four weeks after his surgery.

"Personally I'd like to think it'd be less than that, but at the end of the day it's going to be a collective agreement and I have to progress," Bruce said.