Fernandez: 'I don't want to get shut down'

Jose Fernandez would've liked to start Opening Day for the Miami Marlins - the club handed the assignment to Wei-Yin Chen on Sunday - but the 23-year-old said it's more important that he gets through his first full season since Tommy John surgery without being shut down.

"I don't want to get shut down," Fernandez told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. "It's not going to happen. But, we are planning everything out so perfect. Dr. ElAttrache has been fantastic. He's been so great. I talk to him every two weeks. We keep a really close relationship, and that helps a lot."

Related: Marlins tab Chen over Fernandez for Opening Day

Fernandez's workload for 2016 was a hot topic this offseason (amid trade rumors and reports of discord between him and the Marlins' front office), but the talented Cuban confirmed Sunday he won't face a hard innings cap.

"We don't have an amount of innings set," Fernandez said. "It's pretty much 180-200. It could be less. It could be more. Everything depends. The big thing is how I'm feeling. That was the main focus of the conversation."

By making his first start April 6 instead of the day before, when the Marlins host the Detroit Tigers in Miami for Opening Day, Fernandez will also get the benefit of additional rest between starts more often than usual due to the timing of the club's off days.

Having said that, it would've be nice to take the mound April 5, which would've given him two Opening Day starts before his 24th birthday.

"Of course, everybody wants to pitch Opening Day, every pitcher," Fernandez said. "I was talking with A.J. (Ramos). I said, 'I think even you would like to start, even though you're a closer.'"

Last year, Fernandez watched Henderson Alvarez start the first game of the regular season as he recovered from surgery. Upon returning from the disabled list in July, Fernandez crafted a 2.92 ERA with a 5.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 starts, though he missed more than four weeks between August and September with a biceps strain.