Today is the day the rosters expand.
But before we get to that, we need to care of some business that happened yesterday.
In order to cover for Cabrera's absence from the field the team made a couple of moves.
Andino, who batted .256 in 120 games with Albuquerque, started five days at shortstop for the Marlins in May while Hanley Ramirez recovered from a strained left shoulder. Andino batted .222 (4-for-18) with two RBI in those games.
To make room for Andino, right-hander Randy Messenger was optioned to Class A Jupiter. Messenger will rejoin the Marlins on Monday when the team returns to Florida.
Messenger has struggled out of the bullpen in the second half, posting a 15.00 ERA (25 earned runs in 15 innings) after the All-Star break. Before the break, he posted a 2.62 ERA (10 earned runs in 332/3 innings).
As for the roster expansion the team isn't going to call too many of the minor leaguers. The only ones I know about are Chris Resop, Jason Vargas and Jim Brower.
Resop will be a good addition. Vargas, given the way he has pitched in Triple-A since being demoted, could be a decent left-handed bat off the bench.
I wonder if during the off-season he could be schooled into being a center fielder. He has good arm and if he worked on hitting day-in and day-out he would be, I think, a good everyday hitter. That just leaves the ability to roam the lawn and that is where the school work comes in. Okay, enough random thoughts for now.