Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton will be wearing face protection all season as long as it doesn’t hamper him in spring training.
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The Marlins slugger with the $325 million contract, one Giancarlo Stanton, considers himself ready both physically and mentally for spring training. He intends to prepare for the season with no restrictions, but a little bit of extra gear. Per Peter Gammons of MLB Network, Stanton plans to wear a protective guard on his batting helmet to make sure that he has no hesitation at the plate.
Stanton tested out his new gear in offseason workouts and he expects to be ready for position player workouts starting February 24th in Jupiter, Florida. He said that he will wear the protection all season as long as it doesn’t bother him during spring training.
The Marlins’ right-fielder saw an abrupt end to his season on September 11, 2014, when he was struck by a Mike Fiers pitch at Milwaukee. Stanton suffered facial fractures and had dental work done, but in February, five months later, he still has a lack of feeling in part of his lip and needs further dental work. The Marlins aren’t concerned about their expensive guy though.
"“There’s no concerns on our part,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “We’ve worked closely with Giancarlo and the helmet manufacturer. He will wear a half-cage to protect the injured area. He’s worked out with it.”"
Stanton actually mentioned the protective face wear shortly after signing his 13 year, $325 million contract.
“All season I’ll wear it, given it is comfortable vision-wise,” Stanton said the day he signed. “Just to rule out any type of doubt. We’ll see after the first year.”
The Marlins are set to have one of the top outfields in the MLB’s National League with Stanton in right, Christian Yelich in left, Marcell Ozuna in center and the newly signed Ichiro Suzuki as veteran depth.
Despite having an early end to his season, Stanton still led the NL with 37 home runs and was the runner-up in MVP voting, only behind eventual winner Clayton Kershaw. Stanton also had 105 RBI and hit .288 on the year, in one of the best seasons of his three year tenure with the Marlins.
The Marlins should improve further this upcoming season. They have a young roster and their division is filled with comparatively awful teams, aside from the Washington Nationals. Assuming they can’t beat out the Nats for the top spot, look for them to be a Wild Card contender.
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