Baker, Furcal could return to lineup this weekend

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Marlins won't be short-handed for long. Jeff Baker and Rafael Furcal both left Monday's game with injuries, but manager Mike Redmond said they could be back by the end of the weekend. Furcal is slowed by a left hamstring injury and Baker is battling a sore left quadriceps.

"I think they both came in feeling better than they anticipated, so that's good for us," said Redmond of the two veterans. "They're just going to be day to day. We'll get them out there in the next couple days moving around and we'll see how they progress. As of right now, it sounds like good news."

Furcal, who missed last season after undergoing an operation on his throwing elbow, is attempting a transition to second base this spring. Furcal is batting .125 through his first six games. Baker, who played five positions for the Rangers last season, is batting .313 in Spring Training.

The Marlins won't have an off-day until March 19, and they'll have plenty of time to look at other infield options while Furcal and Baker are on the mend. Neither Furcal nor Baker is scheduled to make the team's weekend trip to Panama, and the club will be as careful as the situation dictates.

"This is the time of Spring Training where it's a three-week period where guys start getting banged up a little bit," said Redmond. "For sure, we want to monitor them. We want to keep all our guys healthy. We have time to get these guys at-bats and do what we need to do to get them ready for Opening Day. We don't want to push them until they're physically ready to be able to go out there and play."