"Starting pitcher Josh Johnson shared some encouraging news this afternoon on Glenn Geffner's Marlins Insider radio show on 790 AM. He said he will start throwing off a mound this week near his home in Las Vegas.

"I'm feeling really good," Johnson said. "I'll throw two this next week and then three every week from there on in. Everything is going according to plan."

Johnson said he will know the exact days of his "bullpen sessions" this week after he talks with pitching coach Randy St Claire.

It will be the first time Johnson has thrown off a mound since he pitched "live batting practice" in late September. He last pitched in a game on May 16, then missed the rest of the season with shoulder discomfort.

Johnson told Geffner he's confident he will be ready to start the season opener and added that he will be 100 percent healthy when pitchers and catchers start working out in Jupiter late next month.

"Yes, definitely, definitely," JJ said.

"I've been working hard… It has been going really well. I have a physical therapist here in Vegas who said the shoulder is stronger than it has ever been.""