Prado believes setback minor

Anderson gets chance at Opening Day

JUPITER — It is a tale as old as the tradition of spring training — the fresh-faced kid on the rise while the proud veteran fights the toll of time dragging him down.

Brian Anderson, projected as the Marlins’ third baseman of the future, embraced a more rapid ascension than expected to starting on Opening Day, while Martin Prado expressed confidence Thursday that the injury setback that will have him on the disabled list when the season begins is minor.

Nonetheless, the team’s unofficial captain is frustrated by the yearlong struggle to get healthy and back on the field.

“I’ve tried everything. It’s unbelievable,” Prado said. “So when you go out there and do baseball stuff [and] something hurts, mentally it just wears you out.”

Prado was preparing to play in a minor league game Tuesday and was running the bases when he felt pain behind his surgically repaired right knee as he made a turn.

Two days later, he was encouraged that he was able to do squats without feeling it and was eager to get back to work.

Likewise, Marlins manager Don Mattingly expects that the veteran third baseman, at age 34, can regain form and durability despite the hamstring and knee injuries that limited him to 37 games last season.

“I think all the factors for him having continued success is still there,” Mattingly said, citing Prado’s work habits. “We do have to get over these leg hurdles he’s been having the last year. I think we will. It’s just frustrating, I know, for him, and semi [frustrating] for us. Because you feel like you’re doing everything you can for him, being patient, taking is slow and then things happen.”

The Marlins are fortunate to have Anderson, their third-round draft pick in 2014, making a strong push to claim the thirdbase job on merit.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me, and I’m just really grateful that it’s coming my way,” Anderson said. “It’s unfortunate it happened this way, with the kind of player that Martin is, the leader he is in the clubhouse. But I’m so excited for this opportunity.”

Anderson, 24, who had a promising 25-game audition with Miami last September, has shown continued development at the plate this spring. He has five extra-base hits including two home runs.

The Oklahoman has also been a fixture on the infield practice diamond known as the Bone Yard, refining his throwing skills as a student of infield coach Perry “Bone” Hill.

By contrast, Prado spends an inordinate amount of time with trainers and going through a painstaking daily regimen just to prepare for the day’s activities on the field.

“When you literally have to do an hour and a half warmup and do everything in the weight room just to feel good enough to go out there, it’s just kind of like frustration,” Prado said. “I just want to be able to do a little bit there and just go play. I’m just hoping this is a minor setback.”

Prado had arthroscopic surgery in late July to repair meniscus and remove a cyst from the outside of his right knee. It came on the heels of two stints on the DL with hamstring strains of the same leg.

While the pain that stopped him Tuesday was a message from his body that couldn’t be ignored, Prado acknowledged that some of the obstacles he is contending with are mental.

Still, he is in a better place than Mets third baseman and captain David Wright, who revealed on Wednesday that he must cease all baseball activities for two months due to a setback in his recovery from lower back and rotator cuff surgery.

Magneuris