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Good news: Alex Wood is about to start throwing. Bad news: He's a long way from pitching.

Reds left-hander Alex Wood is about to resume throwing.

That's the good news. The bad? He's starting from scratch. Wood has been out since spring training with a lower back strain.

"There's a pretty good chance he's going to start a throwing program next week, it's not 100 percent," Reds manager David Bell said. "We'll see how he does between now and Monday. If everything goes well, then he'll begin a throwing program early next week."

As a starting pitcher, Wood needs time to build innings. Spring training is six weeks, so that's a good barometer of how long it takes a starter to get ready.