Reds manager David Bell said Monday that Ashcraft (elbow) could begin a throwing program within the next 10 days, Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Ashcraft has been out since early July with a right elbow strain. He will need about six weeks to ramp things back up before he's ready for games, so even in a best-case scenario the right-hander is probably looking at just one or two late-season appearances.