Latos scratched with bone bruise in right elbow
Righty hopes to make next start; injury not related to October elbow surgery
MILWAUKEE - The Reds announced Friday afternoon that pitcher Mat Latos was scratched from his start vs. the Brewers in Friday's series opener because of a bone bruise in his right elbow. Latos was replaced by rookie Daniel Corcino, a 24-year-old September callup.
Latos, 26, underwent a MRI exam Thursday in Cincinnati that revealed no serious damage to the elbow. Reds manager Bryan Price didn't believe it would be a season-ending injury for Latos, even with only a couple of weeks of games remaining on the schedule.
"I think he's going to be fine," Price said. "We do want to give him a couple of days of no throw and treatment and then we'll reevaluate."
However, it is not known how long Latos will be unable to pitch.
"Hopefully it's just a one-week thing," Latos said. "I hope I'm able to get out there for my next start and pitch. I don't have a timeline. I don't know anything other than I need to be in for treatment."
The next time Latos' spot in the rotation comes up is Wednesday vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Reds are listing that spot as "TBA."
Latos is 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA in 16 starts this season. He opened the season on the disabled list after he needed to continue his rehab from right elbow and left knee surgeries. After a couple of setbacks, he made his 2014 debut June 14.
In his previous start Sunday, Latos allowed three unearned runs and seven hits over six innings for a 4-3 loss to the Mets.
According to Latos and Price, the latest injury is not related to his October elbow surgery that required bone chips to be removed. There was no specific incident where Latos hurt his elbow, such as being hit by a ball.
"This is something I've probably thrown with the past three starts," Latos said. "I couldn't get a lot of extension. It just progressively got worse. The game before last, instead of throwing a bullpen, I threw on flat ground. Then the following bullpen session the other day, I tried to throw another [one on] flat ground and just couldn't. I threw maybe about 15 throws and it just really started bugging me."