UPDATE: Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that Stanton needs surgery for a broken hamate bone and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. This confirms a report from ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian.
9:30 a.m. ET: Troubling news here for the Marlins, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that slugger Giancarlo Stanton has a broken bone in his left hand. Exact details aren’t yet known, but Stanton was set to undergo X-rays after feeling pain in his hand during last night’s game.
According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, Stanton said he began feeling discomfort in the sixth inning last night when he swung and missed against Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson. He could be seen shaking his hand before continuing the at-bat, which ended with a strikeout:
Stanton stayed in the game and struck out again in the ninth inning, this time against right-hander Pedro Baez. He was in obvious pain. You can watch the initial injury and his ninth-inning at-bat below:
[mlbvideo id="200956183" width="560" height="315" /]
You can’t help but be worried about a possible hamate bone injury, which would likely put him out for several weeks. It’s also the kind of injury that is known to sap a player’s power upon their return. Stanton is a ton of fun to watch regardless of your rooting interest. It’s a big loss for baseball in general.
Stanton currently leads the majors with 27 home runs and 67 RBI.
