4/25 Lineup & injury update

Carlos Zambrano was taking grounders at third and shortstop during batting practice Saturday in St. Louis. The Cubs hope it doesn’t come to that. The injuries to Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Marmol are not serious enough to warrant putting them on the DL, so the team will play short-handed. Saturday’s lineup was SS Ryan Theriot, RF Kosuke Fukudome, LF Alfonso Soriano, 1B Derrek Lee, 3B Mike Fontenot, CF Reed Johnson, C Geovany Soto, 2B Aaron Miles and P Sean Marshall.

Ramirez’s left calf was no worse on Saturday than it was Friday, and he could return this week. Marmol had an MRI on his left knee, which revealed a Grade 1 sprain. He is expected to throw a bullpen on Monday, and could be back as early as Tuesday. In the meantime, though, with Milton Bradley also limited, the Cubs were considering some strange backup options. Koyie Hill was a third baseman in college, and took grounders there Saturday. Soriano did play second, but said he’d need to borrow someone’s glove if needed. And then there’s Zambrano, who could be used to pinch-hit.

– Carrie Muskat