Giancarlo Stanton prepares to wear protective guard on helmet

Giancarlo Stanton will have a slightly different look when he steps to the plate for the Marlins in 2015.

After sustaining several facial fractures and some dental damage when he was hit in the face with a fastball in a game on Sept. 11, Stanton told Peter Gammons on MLB Network that he will wear a protective guard on his helmet when he returns to the diamond for spring training. The plan is for the 25-year-old outfielder to use the guard all season, as long as it doesn’t mess with his comfort or vision in the batter’s box.

The rather gruesome injuries he suffered kept him out of the lineup for the final couple weeks of the season. The long recovery process, which actually isn’t entirely complete and requires a couple more procedures, doesn’t appear to have impeded Stanton’s offseason training at all.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]

Cardinals outfielder Jason Heyward has been wearing a similar face mask for over a year now after breaking his jaw in 2013. According to MLB.com, Stanton has been in touch with Heyward to talk about his experience using the mask.

The Marlins signed Stanton to a record 13-year, $325 million contract extension in November and the organization is unsurprisingly supportive of their star slugger taking the safe route.

“There’s no concerns on our part,” said Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill. “We’ve worked closely with Giancarlo and the helmet manufacturer. He will wear a half-cage to protect the injured area. He’s worked out with it.”

With the start of spring training now less than three weeks away, the best news from all this is that one of the game’s best hitters is healthy and looks ready to get back to smashing baseballs a very long way very soon.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

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