Corbin Carroll appears set to give the Diamondbacks a lift at exactly the right time.
According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, Carroll’s MRI showed nothing serious, and the All-Star is expected to be in the lineup Friday night against the Texas Rangers. Gambadoro posted, "Have heard nothing concerning on Corbin Carroll’s MRI and that he will in the lineup tomorrow,"
That’s welcome news for Arizona as it opens its final homestand of the season with the postseason picture hanging in the balance. The Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres have been trading places in the National League wild-card race over the past week, and the Padres entered the weekend holding a half-game edge over Arizona.
Carroll’s availability matters even more because his season has been a grind. Manager Torey Lovullo said Carroll has been playing much of the year “banged up,” and the numbers back that up. He’s hitting .240 with an .800 OPS in 2026, both below his career marks.
The second-half line is even quieter for a player Arizona counts on to spark the offense. Since the All-Star break, Carroll is batting .215 with 39 hits, six home runs, 16 RBIs and 31 runs scored.
This also isn’t the first time Carroll has dealt with an issue this season. He broke his hamate bone before spring training and later had an elbow injury scare in midsummer that kept him off the injured list, though he did need to wear a sleeve to keep playing.
Even with the slump, simply getting Carroll back in the lineup is a big deal for the Diamondbacks. His speed and contact ability can still flip a game in a hurry, and Arizona could use that kind of impact as its playoff push enters its most important stretch.
In Other News...
D-Backs Bullpen Revival Comes With One Catch Fans Should Note
For years, the Arizona bullpen was a nightly source of anxiety, with the group landing near the bottom of the league in key pitching measures from 2017 through 2026. This season has looked different. The relief corps has climbed into the middle of the pack, and for a fan base that spent a lot of time bracing for late-inning trouble, that alone is a meaningful shift. It is not the sort of dominant unit that changes the conversation on its own, but it has been steady enough to give the club a better chance to protect leads.
The catch is that the improvement has not been spread evenly across the group. A few relievers have carried a heavy share of the load, posting low ERAs while seeing the ball more often than anyone else, and that kind of reliance can shape both the numbers and the managers choices. So while the bullpen is clearly better than it was in recent seasons, it still does not stand as the best relief staff in franchise history, and the next test is whether this version can hold up once the workload starts to pile on. [Read more 🡒]
D-Backs Just Got Another Wild Card Concern They Didn't Need
Zac Gallens night was over after 3 1/3 innings in Arizonas 5-2 loss to the Royals, forcing the Diamondbacks to turn to Mike Soroka in relief for the first time this season. It was the kind of pitching wrinkle a club can survive once in a while, but not when the standings are tightening and every game starts to carry a little more weight.
Corbin Carroll created the bigger concern before first pitch, getting scratched because of a back spasm and now lining up for an MRI. For a team trying to stay in the Wild Card mix, any absence from one of its most important everyday players changes the tone of the day fast, and it adds another layer of uncertainty at exactly the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Enter A Make-Or-Break Stretch At Exactly The Right Time
The Diamondbacks are heading into the most important part of their season with some momentum, even if the bats have not always matched the stakes. After taking series from the Astros and Royals, Arizona gets one last homestand to try to keep itself in the postseason race, and the timing could not be much better for a club that has spent much of the year trying to stay upright through injuries and inconsistency. Nine home games now stand between the Diamondbacks and a finish that will send them out on the road against Colorado and San Diego.
Pitching help is arriving just as the schedule tightens, which gives Arizona a chance to stabilize at the exact moment a playoff push demands it. The offense has been uneven lately, so the next stretch will test whether the Diamondbacks can make enough use of their home park and their returning arms to stay in position before those final two road series turn the pressure up even more. [Read more 🡒]