The Marlin placed Mike Rabelo on the disabled list and are likely to keep Paul Hoover around until he returns.

Not yet confirmed but it is likely that Jeremy Hermida will also start the season on DL meaning either Alexis Gomez or Brett Carroll will join the opening day roster.

The Sun-Sentinel had an interesting take on last night’s exhibition game against the Yankees:

I’m pretty sure the headline is wrong. Here is what the Miami Herald said:

I wonder who got it right?

We kid of course. Unlike the headline, Juan C. Rodriguez’s article accurately captured the result of the game. The rest of the article though, hmm… Check out this nugget:

Either A-Rod was born in 1985 (rather than 1975) or the Marlins played in the NLDS against the Giants in 1987, before they existed. Maybe they meant yesterday’s starting pitcher, Andrew Miller, who attended the 2003 World Series. I’m sure it’s a common mistake to confuse Alex Rodriguez with Andrew Miller. Happened to me on my Fantasy Team. Maybe A-Rod plays for the Marlins now. We seem to remember covering it this past fall.

I’m sure by the time you read this, they fixed it. Don’t worry, we all make mistakes (thankfully, I’m a hack not a journalist).

The Marlins are finalizing their roster by sending Josh Johnson, Sergio Mitre, Henry Owens, Harvey Garcia, and Anibal Sanchez to the DL.

Looks like we’ll have to wait to see Cameron Maybin. The Marlins just optioned him to AA meaning Alejandro De Aza is our starting CF. I hope this was a tough choice because Maybin looks like he’s almost ready for the bigs. Either the team feels he would be harmed by playing in the majors right now or they really have aggressive goals for the season and think that De Aza and Cody Ross will allow us to compete for this elusive goal. Don’t feel bad for Maybin, he doesn’t turn 21 until April 4th.

Update: Cody Ross will actually start on opening day because we will be facing a lefty (Johan Santana).

A few news and notes:

• Mark Hendrickson is the lucky winner of our opening day starting pitcher lottery joining the ranks of Charlie Hough, Kevin Brown, and Dontrelle Willis in the Marlins record books.
• With Jose Castillo gone, Jorge Cantu will start at third base.
• ESPN is reporting that Miguel Cabrera just signed an 8-year $153MM extension with the Tigers. It’s, deservingly, the 4th largest deal in MLB history. No way we could (or should) have afforded that.
• If you look closely, you’ll see that the Official Marlins website has been slightly redesigned.

The San Francisco Giants claimed Jose Castillo.

Joe Frisaro is reporting that there are grumblings in the clubhouse that Jose Castillo will not make the team.

It’s clear that Jorge Cantu had a great Spring and Dallas McPherson is injured. I’m wondering whether the Fish think Cantu and Alfredo Amezaga will play 3rd and then have Jason Wood backup first. Regardless it’s a bit surprising.

Update: The Marlins just placed him on waivers; we will have to wait and see if someone picks him up; for now he’s still with the team.

If you thought Spring Training would help answer many of the questions about the Marlins, think again. Here are some of what we believe are the lingering issues:

• Will Cameron Maybin make the major league roster?
  Arguably, Maybin proved that he deserves a spot but Alejandro De Aza had a strong spring and Cody Ross seems to have been penciled in all along. One argument is that you bring him up and let the future prosper. The other is that he could use more seasoning and you want him playing every day.
  Our guess: Maybin ends up in the Minors with De Aza starting
• Who starts opening day?
  The stars are aligning for Mark Hendrickson. He’s pitched well, he’s a veteran, and Scott Olsen isn’t ready.
  Our guess: Hendrickson — from NBA to opening day
• Do we have a starting rotation yet?
  Yes and no. Hendrickson has done well, he’s in. Olsen looks like he’ll be healthy by the 4th game of the season, so he’s in. That leaves Andrew Miller, Rick VandenHurk, and Ricky Nolasco to fight it out. Miller doesn’t seem to be ready yet but I wonder if the team needs him there to feel better about the Detroit trade (especially if Maybin doesn’t make the team). Nolasco and VandenHurk are both ready.
  Our guess: Miller and VandenHurk with Nolasco returning to his previous role has a long reliever
• Chris Volstad rocks but where will he pitch?
  Volstad has had a great spring but he probably won’t make the team. He’s 21 and the Marlins probably fear that he would be overwhelmed. Why risk it? Why allow his major league status clock to start ticking?
  Our guess: It’s AA for Volstad but look for him to come up later in the year, especially if our pitchers can’t stay healthy.
• Who’s on Third?
  Jorge Cantu can hit but can’t play defense. Jose Castillo can also hit, but not as well as Cantu. Dallas McPherson is injured.
  Our guess: Cantu starts for now, Castillo makes the roster, Dallas goes on the DL or directly to AAA
• Is anyone ready to be the day-to-day catcher?
  Nothing marvelous out of our catching core but it looks like Matt Treanor and Mike Rabelo will assume the role as expected. Both are banged up but expect them to be ready.
  Our guess: Treanor on opening day and then rotating until someone catches fire

We noticed a few interesting quotes in recent articles about the Marlins:

• We are kindly reminded by The NY Daily News that Jeff Loria really really really hates Joe Girardi:
  

  Said Loria Saturday in Marlins camp: “With the exception of last year, when we had the chain of injuries primarily hung over from the year before when there were decisions made that were not great decisions, this team has always been formidable.”

  Translation: I put out a great product and Girardi broke it.

• Staying with Loria, while others focused on his payroll comments we thought the interesting quote was this:
  

  “There will be a complete change [of uniforms],” Loria said. “Nothing has been designed yet. It will be different. It will be fun. It will be something we can all grab on to and call our own.”

  Are we the only ones worried about “fun” uniforms? This Fish already have traditional looking uniforms. Don’t want to end up looking like an expansion team… again.

• Hanley tells us something we should all appreciate:
  

  “I think [the Marlins] treat me good from the bottom all the way to the top. I feel comfortable here.”

  Reminder to all those “fans” who criticize the ownership and management for the way they treat players: Hanley knows what he’s talking about; you don’t.

Spring Training is just around the corner and the Marlins have released the names of the new (and old) faces who will join the club for its annual spring rituals.

We have already heard about Jose Castillo and Jorge Cantu but now we learn that 13 minor league free agents received invites to the big league camp and they are: pitchers Doug Waechter, Bobby Keppel and Tim Corcoran; catcher Paul Hoover; infielders Tagg Bozied and Jason Wood; and outfielders John Gall, Alexis Gomez and Jorge Piedra.

Other non-40-man-roster invitees include pitchers Burke Badenhop, Dallas Trahern, Gaby Hernandez, Brett Sinkbeil, Aaron Thompson, Ryan Tucker and Chris Volstad; catchers John Baker, Brett Hayes and Brad Davis; and infielders Chris Coghlan and Lee Mitchell.