Corbin Carroll on getting hit in hand by pitch in loss to Blue Jays
Corbin Carroll was struck in the hand by a pitch in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ June 18 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. What he said.
CHICAGO — Right fielder Corbin Carroll has a fracture in his left wrist and will be placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday, June 24, manager Torey Lovullo said, the latest in a series of crushing injuries to beset the Diamondbacks in recent weeks.
Carroll was hit on the left wrist by a 91.4 mph sinker from Blue Jays lefty Justin Bruihl on June 18 in Toronto. Initial X-rays came back negative, but when the injury did not progress Carroll was sent for both an MRI and CT scan on Monday, June 23, which revealed what Lovullo described a “chip fracture.”
General manager Mike Hazen said it is a nondisplaced fracture, meaning that while it is not a good outcome for Carroll or the Diamondbacks, it could have been worse.
“It sounds like it’s relatively stable so it just needs to heal and we’ll see how it is to tolerate after that,” Hazen said. “I don’t know what the downtime is going to be. They’ll probably reassess it after a few weeks. It’s going to be some period of time down.”
Outfielder Jake McCarthy is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Reno to take Carroll’s place on the roster.
Carroll said he will return to Arizona and visit with a specialist to determine a course of treatment.
“I think it explains the pain and why it wasn’t getting better,” Carroll said. “I think we went through all the right steps and treated it as a contusion until it wasn’t. At this point, with the pain not getting better, it kind of had to be done.”
Also known as an avulsion fracture, a chip fracture occurs when a “ligament or tendon pulls away a small piece of a bone,” according to WebMD. Lovullo said Carroll’s imaging already has been read by hand specialist Dr. Don Sheridan but added that he expected another opinion to be sought, as well.
Carroll had been enjoying one of the better offensive seasons of anyone in the National League, hitting .255/.341/.573 with 20 homers, 13 doubles and a major league-leading nine triples through 72 games.
For a team that lost pitchers Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk to elbow injuries earlier this month followed by catcher Gabriel Moreno (fractured finger) during this road trip, the loss of Carroll carries even more significance.
The Diamondbacks, at 40-38, are 2 1/2 games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the NL, and they are trying to play well enough to convince the front office to buy — or at least not sell — ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. Losing Carroll makes that task even more difficult.
“We’re playing good baseball right now,” Carroll said. “I think just in the last really like two weeks we’ve been taking care of business. Really proud of the way the guys have been fighting. I think it says a lot about our resolve and how we never quit.”
DBacks add veteran catcher James McCann
The Diamondbacks signed catcher James McCann to a major league deal and added him to their roster on June 23. To make room, the club designated catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment.
McCann, 35, has played parts of 11 seasons in the majors. He signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves in March, a deal that included the ability to opt out if a major league opportunity arose.
McCann was cut loose from his deal June 22 and signed with the Diamondbacks a day later. He will make a prorated portion of the league minimum for the remainder of the year.
“He already comes with a very good reputation of being a strong, heady catcher,” Lovullo said. “Follows game plans. Makes adjustments. And he’s done it for a long time.”
McCann said he has touched base with Burnes, his teammate last season in Baltimore, in an attempt to get acquainted with the pitching staff.
“He’s given me a rundown on several guys,” McCann said. “Just taking as much in as I can. Trusting what they say, trusting what teammates say. I’m the new guy trying to get on their page, which I’m going to try to do as quickly as possible.”
McCann was hitting .297/.331/.493 with six homers in 41 games with Triple-A Gwinnett.
He has been a subpar offensive contributor at the major league level over the past four seasons, hitting a combined .224/.279/.352 since the start of 2021.
Lovullo excited about passage of Chase Field bill
Lovullo held his daily pregame media briefing just minutes after HB2704 was approved by the state House of Representatives, a bill that, once signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, would generate up to $500 million to renovate Chase Field.
“It’s a great moment for Diamondbacks baseball,” Lovullo said. “I’m a part of the Valley. I love the Valley. I live in the Valley. I’m grateful to know that we’re very close to keeping the team in the Valley forever. I think that’s where it belongs.”