John Fay

jfay@enquirer.com

Mat Latos will make one more rehab assignment Monday. He is not happy about it at all.

Latos left his last rehab start after five innings and 67 pitches because of a cramp in his calf.

"The cramp happened; it was minor," Latos said. "They took me out as a precaution. I didn't want to come out. It's pretty bogus I have to go on another rehab assignment. But it it is what it is. I don't make the decisions around here. I'm a puppet on a string. I get told to do what I need to do and I do it.

"I can tell you I'm about as healthy as I've been. I could pitch in a game if I needed to. Like I said, I can't do anything about it. If the cramp is the reason why I'm going on another rehab assignment . . . It is what it is."

The Reds want Latos to get to 90 to 100 pitches. He could have done that Wednesday, he said.

"I could have," Latos said. "But I like I said, I'm a puppet on a string. I do what they want me to do for the most part."

Latos would not say if there's something else behind him going on another rehab start.

"That's for him to tell you whatever it is," Latos said.

Latos said all his pitches were fine in the rehab start Wednesday.

"I feel fine," he said. "I mixed in a lot of two-seamers. The velocity was there -- 90 to 94. When I start throwing 86 to 90 mph slider, I think that says a lot about how I feel. The change-up was a little harder than it normally is. The curveball was fine. Like I said, I'm perfectly fine. The calf is not the issue."

Latos said he did not try to talk the Reds out of another rehab start.

"There's no point," he said. "They had their minds made up. I'll go down and throw 100 fastballs and call it a day."

Price said Latos would stay on his regular rest, meaning he'd pitch Monday, but it hasn't been determined where. The Triple-A Louisville Bats are at Pawtuckett and Class A Dayton is at Lake County in northeast Ohio.

"Barring any issues with the rest of our guys in our rotation, we'd like to get him all the way stretched out," Price said. "Even though he feels he's ready to help us, I appreciate that, but we are going to ask him when activated to be able to do all the things the rest of the guys are doing, pitching into the later innings. I'd like to get him stretched out to 90-100 pitches, if possible before we activate him."