Giancarlo Stanton was expected to miss 4-6 weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery on July 8 and sure enough he’s back from the disabled list one day short of a month later.
Stanton returns after missing 25 games, during which the Marlins went 8-17 to fall out of contention and into a last-place tie in the NL East.
Stanton initially tried to play through loose bodies in his knee, but was in and out of the lineup before ultimately deciding to go under the knife. Prior to being shut down he hit .284 with 19 homers, 20 doubles, and a career-high .919 OPS in 80 games and made his first All-Star team.
He went 5-for-16 with two homers on a brief minor-league rehab assignment at Single-A.