The Miami Marlins went through an emotional and difficult game as a team on Thursday night after their face of the franchise, Giancarlo Stanton, went down after taking a Mike Fiers fastball to the face.
Obviously the top concern for the Marlins is the health of Stanton, who had to be carted off the field and was initially reported to have sustained facial lacerations while requiring further evaluation with X-rays and CT scans. Updates later in the night reported that Stanton has facial fractures and dental damage:
#Marlins Giancarlo Stanton suffered a facial laceration requiring stitches, multiple facial fractures and dental damage
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) September 12, 2014
Farther down the list of priorities with Stanton’s injury are the baseball implications.
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The Marlins were hanging on the fringe of the Wild Card race with a 71-74 record, but they will now presumably be without the potential National League MVP for the remainder of the season.
These updates on Stanton’s injuries, while confirming what we already suspected, do not bode well for any hopes that he might return to play again this season. Manager Mike Redmond confirmed after the game that the team expects Stanton will not play again in the 2014 regular season.
No official word on severity of Giancarlo Stanton's injury but Marlins manager Mike Redmond expressed doubt that he'd play again in 2014.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) September 12, 2014
Redmond: "It doesn't look good. We just lost the MVP."
— Tom (@Haudricourt) September 12, 2014
A prognosis offered in the heat of the moment might not necessarily be the best thing to bank on, but given the seriousness of what happened, it stands to reason that Stanton will not play again this season. That would be true whether the Marlins were in the playoff race or not, as the priority is clearly to ensure that Stanton has a successful recovery from these injuries.
Stay tuned to FanSided for all of the latest news, rumors, and analysis for Major League Baseball as the season races towards the postseason and the hot stove this off-season.