The Miami Marlins announced on Wednesday that star slugger Giancarlo Stanton will be shut down for the remainder of the 2014 MLB season after sustaining facial and dental injuries.

Marlins President of baseball operations Michael Hill said that they were hoping that Stanton will be able to return this season, but team doctors said that the right fielder needs more time to recover from his injuries.

"As soon as the injury happened, the most important thing was obviously his health," Hill said in a statement. "That was always at the forefront. We wanted to make sure he received the best care he possibly could get from the second he was carted off the field."

Stanton sustained multiple facial fractures and lacerations that required several stitches, and dental injuries after being hit in the face by a pitch from Milwaukee Brewers' Mike Fiers last week.

After getting hit by Fiers' 88-mph fastball, the 24-year-old immediately went down with blood pouring out from the lacerations before being carried off the field.

Hill said that Stanton's condition has been improving over the past several days, while also adding that Rawlings is already working on a customized helmet for Stanton to protect his face when he returns to action.

"He's made tremendous progress," Hill said of Stanton. "But there was still some swelling, then the multiple fractures. There just wasn't enough time, not enough schedule, to get him back on the field."

Before the injury, Stanton was on pace to become the first Marlins player to win the National League MVP award -- along with the home run and RBI titles -- in the same season. However, the five-year veteran, who has 105 RBIs this season, has already slipped to second place in the RBI race.

Hill is still hoping that Stanton, who hit .288 with 37 homeruns this season, will still win the NL MVP honors and home run title despite playing in just 145 games this season, while also expressing desire to strike a new deal with the All-Star in the offseason.

"We're hopeful that the season will end and he will be named MVP of the league, and we'll get back into our offseason preparation and hopefully our long-term discussions with him," Hill said.

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