As expected, outfielder Josh Willingham was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list, where he had been out since late April with a lower back strain.

The team on Tuesday also optioned catcher Mike Rabelo to Triple-A Albuquerque, and recalled catcher Paul Hoover from Albuquerque to fill his roster spot.

Getting Willingham back provides a big boost to the middle of the order.

The team's regular cleanup hitter, he has appeared in 25 games and was hitting .341 (31-for-91) with six home runs and 16 RBIs before he went on the disabled list on May 2 with a low back strain. His DL stint was retroactive to April 28.

Willingham appeared in eight rehab assignment games for Double-A Carolina, where he was 6-for-26 with two doubles and five RBIs.

With Willingham back in the lineup, veteran Luis Gonzalez will be used off the bench.

"It's been tough because as a baseball player, you want to play and help your team win," said Willingham, who has dealt with a back strain and herniated disc. "The team has been doing great. I'm not trying to come in and change anything. I want to chime in and do what I can to help us win."

Manager Fredi Gonzalez plans on giving Willingham plenty of work, noting that the injury could flare up at any given time. But with a 12:05 p.m. ET game on Thursday, the team is leaning toward resting Willingham that day.

Otherwise, Willingham is cleared to play.

"It's been fun to watch them, but it's been frustrating not being able to play," Willingham said.

Rabelo, 28, has been backing up Matt Treanor, who has seen a majority of the work behind the plate. In 34 games, Rabelo is hitting .202 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. A switch-hitter, he has 109 at-bats.

One of the key players obtained from Detroit last December in the mega-deal that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers, Rabelo wasn't getting steady work.

"I'm looking at it as he goes down there and plays, and then he [by performance] will make us make a decision," manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Rabelo taking steps to show he is ready to return.

Hermida has being dealing with a lower back strain and a herniated disc.

Rabelo started on Sunday at Oakland, and he had a passed ball and a mental mistake in the third inning that helped the A's break open a four-run lead in a 7-1 victory.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Oakland's Kurt Suzuki hit a grounder to Jorge Cantu, who stepped on first base and threw home. Rabelo was unsure if Cantu stepped on the base, which he did, and that removed the force play at home. Rabelo didn't attempt to apply the tag on a sliding Ryan Sweeney. If he had, it would have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Sweeney scored, and Emil Brown then lofted a two-run single, and the A's had a comfortable lead.

Afterwards, Rabelo was standup about the play, noting that he "messed up."

Still, it was more than one game that had the Marlins ready to option the switch-hitting catcher. Simply, Rabelo was needing more game action.

Rabelo, who missed several weeks of Spring Training, opened the season on the disabled list because of a sprained left knee. He missed about a week of the regular season before seeing his first action on April 11 at Houston.

"I don't know if he started from behind the eight ball from the very beginning because of the injury," Gonzalez said. "He gets to go down there and get some at-bats. If they play seven days, he can play four or five, and get more at-bats. He will let us know when he's ready [by performance].

"What I mean by that, he will have 50 or so at-bats, and he's batting .280, and we will be ready to have him back."

Hoover opened the season on the roster, but he was optioned to Albuquerque in early April after Rabelo was activated. This is the third time this season Hoover has been called up to the big leagues.

Along with catching, Hoover can play first base and spot at either third base or outfield. He's appeared in two games for Florida, and he is 3-for-7.