Giancarlo Stanton still hopes to return, Jose Fernandez to pitch on Saturday

On June 26 Giancarlo Stanton broke the hamate bone in his left hand, after his bat dug into his hand while swinging. In the days after, the Marlins slugger would go on to have surgery on his left hand. The initial prognosis stated that it would the right fielder about 4-6 weeks to get back on the field, placing his return date somewhere between the end of July and early August.

It is now the eighth of September and, to this point, Giancarlo Stanton has suffered two setbacks and has only one rehab assignment game under his belt. Currently Stanton is waiting for the discomfort in his hand to go away until he continues live hitting. Despite the multiple setbacks and continued feeling of discomfort in his hand, Stanton still hopes to return to the lineup in 2015, via Christina De Nicola of FoxSports.com:

"There's always a possibility (of not returning), but (that's) not what I'm looking for."

There are some hurdles ahead of Stanton if he indeed does hope to play again this year. The first hurdle is the race against time, as the Marlins only have 24 games remaining on their schedule. The second hurdle that Stanton faces is that he will be unable to partake in a rehab assignment, as the minor league season has come to an end. A rehab start would not be necessary to return to the majors, as Stanton could participate in a simulated game. Taking into account the rate at which Stanton's hand is progressing, it would be surprising if the All-Star made it back in the lineup this season.

Jose Fernandez was able to beat the clicking tock of the 2015 season, as he is scheduled to pitch on Saturday against at home against the Nationals. Fernandez threw 75 pitches in a simulated game at Marlins Park on Monday, and feels ready and healthy to finish out the season.

The Marlins young ace was placed on the disabled list on August 11, due to a right biceps strain. Before his stint on the disabled list, Fernandez was 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA in seven starts. In his career Fernandez is 15-0 with a 1.114 ERA at home and he has a chance to add to that undefeated streak in the next month. If the Marlins keep him on a normal pitching schedule to close out the season, then two of his final five projected starts would be at home.

At this point in the season, it would be reasonable for the Marlins to simply shut down their two franchise cornerstones. Both Stanton and Fernandez have been nagged by injuries in 2015 and shutting them down would prevent any possibility of further damage. But both players are obviously itching to get back on the field with the hopes ending 2015 on a good note and building some sort of momentum heading into next season.