Stanton to Return Thursday

Good news for what’s left of the Miami Marlin fans, as the team’s lone offensive threat should be back in the starting lineup tomorrow for Thursday’s matchup against the Reds. The Marlins, mired in a 3-12 funk to start the 2013 season, will need much more than Giancarlo Stanton‘s bat to make them relevant, but his return can’t hurt their chances any.

Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

After hitting 37 homers in just 123 games a year ago, Stanton has spent the early part of 2013 battling injuries and slumping to a .167/.342/.233 line without a long ball to this name thus far. The 23-year-old has been the source of all kinds of trade talks, and indeed it seems very possible he could be moved at some point in the near future for Miami to complete their latest fire sale.

Coming into today’s game, the team as a whole was hitting .209/.277/.273 with just three home runs in it’s first 14 games, a truly horrendous start. While things are bound to pick up a bit from this lack of production, the odds of a non-last place finish are already very low. As for Stanton, if he’s been cleared health-wise, it shouldn’t be long before he returns to his typical power-hitting ways. The only question is how long he’ll continue to do it in south Florida.

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