JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – As a career souvenir, reliever Joe Borowski owns an 8-by-10 photo that shows him coming off the mound after saving a game for the Chicago Cubs and accepting congratulations from his catcher, Joe Girardi.

Four years later they’re reunited with the Florida Marlins, and the team has a new manager: Girardi.

“I said to him, “I’m not going to lie to you, it seems strange,”‘ Borowski said. “He said, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get along fine.”‘

“We both understand the situation,” Girardi said.

The situation is that the Marlins’ bullpen – like the rest of the roster – was badly depleted by the team’s budget cutbacks. Girardi needs a closer, and Borowski is the leading candidate for the job, even though his most recent save came in May 2004.

“I’ve been battling injuries the last two years, and I’m finally coming into camp feeling fantastic, 100 percent, no problems,” said Borowski, 34. “I’m looking forward to going out there and proving wrong the people who say, “He was never really any good.”‘

Borowski was 12 years into his professional career before he earned his first major-league save. That was in 2002 with the Cubs, when Girardi was his teammate.

The following year was Borowski’s best – he had 33 saves and an ERA of 2.63 for the Cubs, who lost to the Marlins in the NL championship series.

He missed much of 2004 with a shoulder injury, then broke a bone in his right forearm in spring training last year. After the Cubs released him in June, Borowski joined Tampa Bay and set a club record with 21 consecutive scoreless innings. But then he gave up 15 earned runs in his final 14 1-3 innings of the season.

The right-hander accepted a one-year offer from the Marlins in December.

“They said, “We pretty much got rid of everybody. There are going to be spots to take all over,”‘ Borowski said. “I want to pitch late in the game when the game is on the line, and I thought this was the best opportunity for me to get back to playing that kind of role.”

Borowski wouldn’t be the first veteran reliever to revive his career with the Marlins. Armando Benitez did it with 47 saves in 2004, and Todd Jones did it with 40 last year.

“Hopefully I’ll be No. 3,” Borowski said.

Marlins newcomers Kerry Ligtenberg and Matt Herges also have experience as closers, and rookie Travis Bowyer is another candidate for the job. But Borowski is the early favorite.

“It’s a huge opportunity for him,” Girardi said. “He’s healthy, and he hasn’t been healthy the last couple of years in Chicago, and that hurt him.”

Girardi and Borowski were teammates in 1997-98 with the New York Yankees, and in 2001-02 with the Cubs.

“He knows what I’m capable of doing,” Borowski said. “I don’t have the greatest stuff on earth. I’m not blessed with throwing 99 mph. But when people are on base and the game’s on the line, I’ll do whatever I have to do to get out of that situation. That’s how I succeeded in the past.”