Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll appears to have avoided a serious shoulder problem for the second time in a week.
As manager Torey Lovullo put it during his game with Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo, Arizona believes it “dodged a bullet.”
“All the early signs are so very, very positive that he’s just about to take some swings and try it and see how it feels,” he said on Friday. “There is potential for him to play a lot sooner or later. And I mean much earlier. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to fulfill some points and feels good enough to make the lineup again.
“That’s the situation with Corbin, he’s so in tune with his body. He’s such a strong athlete – probably one of the strongest physiques I’ve ever seen. He has a surgically repaired shoulder and when something isn’t quite right I think that – because he feels and understands things – it upsets him.”
Adding that he’s not ruling out Carroll for Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Lovullo says, “Anything is possible.”
The update comes after the 2023 All-Star starter underwent an MRI of the injury that forced him in Thursday night’s loss to the New York Mets.
This does not look good.
Corbin Carroll leaves the game in visible pain after a punch. pic.twitter.com/UbraB4y5ua
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) July 7, 2023
During the seventh inning of the 9-0 loss, Carroll was in visible pain after swinging for a breaking ball. He immediately grabbed his shoulder and headed toward the dugout, where he was met by team coach and manager Torey Lovullo.
After the game, the captain told reporters that the team had received “some encouraging news” about Carroll and that his shoulder’s stability had been checked. Despite the positives, Lovullo wasn’t sure how many games he would miss or if he would end up on the injury list.
It is the same shoulder that required surgery in 2021.
“The situation is that there is no roadmap,” Lovullo said of Carroll’s shoulder condition when asked if it could be a recurring problem. “There are a few athletes who have had this situation. (Michael Conforto) up in San Francisco was probably the first leading actor I’ve heard of that had a situation like this. At Corbin, he tries to analyze every bump and bruise in detail, how he feels, what it means and what that reaction is.
“Is this the new normal for Corbin? … To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised. There is no template for what we can expect and what lies ahead. Sometimes we get caught off guard, but we trust the athlete in every situation when they give us these ratings and an overview of their feelings.”
Carroll has had a severe stretch in his right shoulder lately.
Before his departure on Thursday, Carroll suffered a shoulder problem in a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last week. He was finally knocked out in the fifth inning.
After the game, Carroll admitted he was shaken by the injury but was given the go-ahead by the team coaches and felt a load was lifted from his shoulders.
#Dbacks OF Corbin Carroll said he was a little shattered about his shoulder pain given his injury in 2021.
Luckily, he was given the green light and said a load had been lifted from his shoulders. pic.twitter.com/whVyehZPIY
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 29, 2023
Despite avoiding the injury list, he still missed three starts due to the problem.
The D-Backs are back in action against the Pirates on Friday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on the Arizona Sports app 98.7 or ArizonaSports.com.