Giancarlo Stanton suffered a groin injury on the final play of Miami’s 8-7 loss to the White Sox on Saturday. (AP) When Giancarlo Stanton went down with a groin injury in August it was supposed to end his season. Well, not so fast. It turns out he’s already ready to return to the Miami Marlins, albeit in a limited role.
The Marlins activated Stanton from the disabled list prior to their game Tuesday night and he’s available to play against the Philadelphia Phillies, but he won’t be in the starting lineup. And don’t expect to see him start a game any time soon, either.*Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters Stanton will be used exclusively as a pinch-hitter until further notice.
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Official: Giancarlo Stanton is active for the Marlins. He will be limited to pinch-hitting for now.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 6, 2016
With major-league rosters expanding to 40 players in September having Stanton around as a designated pinch-hitter*isn’t doing any harm or taking away a roster spot from someone else.*He’ll be able to continue his rehab, and if he can contribute a few clutch hits off the bench, even better, with an eye on being back at full strength toward the end of the month.
Unfortunately for the Marlins, their season might be over by the time Stanton is healthy enough to be an every day player again.*They’ve lost nine of their last 10 games and are now five games out of the National League wild-card game.
Still, this is a nice surprise for Miami as it appeared Stanton had once again fallen victim to a season-ending injury. It’ll be nice to see him on the field, even if it’s just once per game as a pinch-hitter.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew*on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr