It’s a Christmas miracle!

The oft-broken Carlos Gonzalez swung a bat for the first time since a knee surgery ended his season in August:

This is the happiest baseball news in a long time for Gonzalez, a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award recipient. The knee operation was his third surgery in a difficult 2014. He had appendicitis in early January. In June, after months of pain and swelling in his left index finger, doctors removed a benign tumor. After recovering and returning to the lineup, however, the problem with his left knee — which had affected him for much of 2013, a year during which he was dealing with ligament damage in his right middle finger — worsened.

Gonzalez is still just 29 but hasn’t played more than 135 games since 2010.