Giancarlo Stanton is officially trending towards a return for the New York Yankees, taking live batting practice on the field before the team’s series finale with the San Diego Padres. After (deserved) speculation all spring that Stanton could miss the entire season with double elbow tendonitis, an exposed outdoor batting session in front of cameras, teammates, and opponents represented a massive step forward for the slugger. Still, though, it felt obvious to anyone who watched that Stanton’s return is unlikely to be right around the corner.

Stanton’s swings seemed methodical. When he’s right, he scoops low pitches and ambushes the baseball with ferocity. This exercise looked a bit more like Stanton getting more comfortable with familiar motions at a slow-motion pace.

The trademark uppercut was there on a few low offerings. The carry on the baseball wasn’t.

Being a step slow while getting re-acclimated to the ins and outs of the sport is nothing to be ashamed of. But this BP session didn’t exactly scream, “Stanton will be back without a rehab assignment,” as Aaron Boone recently speculated.

Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton took slow-motion batting practice in return from double elbow injuries

Stanton’s pain has not disappeared. It may never go away fully. As the man himself noted on Wednesday, though, it will never be an excuse again.

“If I’m out there, I’m good enough to play, and there’s no levels of anything else,” Stanton told reporters after his public unveiling. He believes he’ll need some rehab appearances, and seems to think they’ll come sooner rather than later.

His earliest possible return date is May 27, and like any player fighting through pain, that has been the gleaming target date floating through his mind and helping him get through the dark period. Let it never be said that Stanton isn’t the purest form of badass. He fought through similar pain all summer and fall last year, leading the Yankees to the World Series when some of his teammates receded. He was genuinely heroic, and that heroism left him at a deficit he’s still fighting through.

While Wednesday was a breath of fresh air — in more ways than one — Stanton handling velocity and feeling comfortable enough to let loose will be something different entirely. Hopefully, the next showcase is a little more high-speed.