JUPITER, Fla. -- Temperatures dipped into the 40s, but spring officially arrived for the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Pitchers and catchers reported for their first workout at Roger Dean Stadium complex. Among them were ace Jose Fernandez and veteran Dan Haren.
Fernandez, who underwent Tommy John surgery on May 16, 2014, anticipates throwing off the mound for the first time during the first week of March. Until then, he will get his rehabilitation work in and support his teammates.
The 22-year-old right-hander has been throwing every day -- 10 minutes at 150 feet before switching to flat ground. This week he even began tossing breaking balls.
"I want to pitch tomorrow in the big leagues, are you kidding me?" Fernandez said of being anxious. "I want to go out there and pitch tomorrow. That's just who I am. I think you have to be smart. It's not, 'Oh, I'm 22. I can do whatever I want. My arm is of steel. I've thrown 100 miles before.' Those times already happened a little bit. You've got to be smart and you've got to go and take care of your arm. It's not just all you. It's about your teammates. They're counting on me and I'm counting on them. You've got to be responsible enough and old enough in the big leagues to take the proper care of your arm."
Earlier this month, general manager Dan Jennings said the timetable for his return ranges from June 15 to July 16. The latter is the final day of the All-Star break. Fernandez could return on July 17 when the Marlins visit the Philadelphia Phillies.
In 2014, fresh off a National League Rookie of the Year campaign, Fernandez started just 10 games, going 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA, before experiencing right elbow discomfort in San Diego.
"I think July 16 is the day the doctors said," Fernandez said of his return. "Honestly, who knows when I'm going to come back? It goes on how I feel. Not really going to have a date until five days before that start. Just follow the plan and it depends on how I'm feeling."
Up to this point, Fernandez hasn't had any setbacks and called everything "looking sharp." He has surprised himself by not trying to sneak a mound session or rushing the process.
"It's funny because it feels like I never had surgery," Fernandez said. "I've been throwing my flat grounds and all that. The strike zone is there, location is there, just bad timing."
Dan Haren, acquired during winter meetings from the Los Angeles Dodgers, made his first appearance as a Marlin.
When the deal happened in December, tweets circulated that Haren had previously stated he didn't want to pitch outside of southern California where his family lives. He even said he would retire if that happened.
"I definitely considered retiring, but getting traded over here didn't move the needle one way or another," said Haren, donning Marlins workout gear on Friday. "I wanted to make sure I was going to be 100 percent committed to it just like I had my whole career. I didn't want to put in any less effort. Once I was committed in the offseason to putting in the work I was ready to go."
Haren underwent left shoulder surgery in October, which he did because he planned on pitching in 2015. After exercising his player option with the Dodgers, the trade took him by surprise.
Once the initial shock wore off, Haren took time to make a decision as Miami personnel gave him space. President of baseball operations Michael Hill spoke with him. Owner Jeffrey Loria spent an hour with him on the phone.
The 34-year-old right-hander is 142-122 with a 3.77 ERA in 359 games over 12 big-league seasons. Miami projects him as the fourth starter in the rotation, one that desperately needed a reliable veteran presence who could eat up innings in 2014.
"I'll do my thing," Haren said. "I've always prided myself in being pretty reliable and taking the ball every five days."
Following the holidays and vacation, Haren told the Marlins he would report to camp. He acknowledged that the process took longer than he wanted and that it may have portrayed him as "snobbish."
Since then, he has been long tossing and rehabbing. That signified him being "all in." There haven't been any setbacks in his recovery.
"I think a lot of things were probably overblown," Haren said of the situation. "I never really said anything directly to anyone, to any media at all. A lot of it was just reports and stuff like that. I'm here, I'm happy to be here. I had a good talk with (manager) Mike Redmond earlier this morning. I'm ready to go."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
