Corbin Carroll’s Hand Injury Sends Shockwaves Through Diamondbacks’ Spring Camp
The Diamondbacks just took a major hit before the first pitch of spring training. Star outfielder Corbin Carroll suffered a broken hamate bone in his right hand during batting practice and is undergoing surgery today.
That’s a tough break-literally and figuratively-for both Carroll and a D-backs team looking to build on last year’s momentum. While the team hasn’t released a recovery timeline yet, hamate injuries typically sideline hitters for four to eight weeks, and there’s a good chance Carroll opens the season on the injured list.
This is not the kind of news Arizona wanted to kick off camp with. Carroll, the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year, has already become the face of the franchise.
He’s a two-time All-Star and finished sixth in MVP voting last season, and for good reason. His 2025 stat line was a blend of speed, power, and plate discipline: a .259/.343/.541 slash with 31 homers, 32 doubles, 17 triples, and 32 stolen bases in 38 attempts.
He walked at a solid 10.4% clip, struck out just under 24% of the time, and led all of baseball in baserunning value, according to FanGraphs’ BsR. By wRC+, he was 39% better than the league average hitter.
That’s elite territory.
And now, Arizona’s lineup is staring at a glaring hole.
Outfield Depth Gets Put to the Test
Even before Carroll’s injury, the D-backs’ outfield situation was already a bit of a puzzle. They traded Jake McCarthy to Colorado earlier in the offseason after a couple of underwhelming years.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is still recovering from a torn ACL and will also begin the season on the IL. That leaves Arizona with a patchwork group of options-and not a lot of proven production.
Top prospect Jordan Lawlar, who had been transitioning from the infield to the outfield, now seems like a lock to start the season in the grass. He’s got the athleticism, but this wasn’t the original plan.
Center fielder Alek Thomas brings solid defense, but he’s yet to find consistency at the plate across four big-league seasons. With Blaze Alexander recently traded to the Orioles, the D-backs are running out of internal solutions.
Pavin Smith, primarily a first baseman and DH, does have some outfield experience-but he’s graded out poorly defensively in the corners. The recent signing of Carlos Santana was supposed to give Smith a platoon partner at first, but now it’s possible Santana takes over full-time duties there while Smith shifts to the outfield, at least temporarily.
Depth Options, But No Clear Answers
Jorge Barrosa is on the 40-man roster and out of minor league options, but his limited MLB sample hasn’t inspired much confidence-a .148/.170/.239 line in 95 plate appearances. His Triple-A numbers are decent, but nothing that screams “everyday player.”
Then there’s Tim Tawa, who mashed 31 homers in Triple-A in 2024 but struggled mightily in the bigs last year, hitting just .201/.274/.347. He’s spent most of his pro career in the infield but does have over 1,500 innings of outfield experience. He’s an option, but again-more question marks than answers.
If the D-backs want to be bold, they could fast-track 2024 first-round pick Ryan Waldschmidt. The 23-year-old hasn’t played a game at Triple-A yet, but he tore up both High-A and Double-A last season.
Across 601 plate appearances, he slashed .289/.419/.473 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, four triples, and 29 steals. He showed advanced plate discipline with a 16% walk rate and just a 17.6% strikeout rate.
Ranked as the No. 48 overall prospect by Baseball America, Waldschmidt has the tools-but jumping him straight to the majors would be a high-risk, high-reward move.
What’s Next?
Arizona could also look outside the organization for help. Even before Carroll’s injury, the outfield depth was thin.
Now, it’s bordering on urgent. There are still a few veterans lingering on the free-agent market-names like Mike Tauchman, Mark Canha, and Randal Grichuk could make sense on a minor league deal with a spring training invite.
As camps open across the league, more players will become available via opt-outs or roster crunches, and the D-backs will likely keep a close eye on those developments.
For now, though, the focus is on Carroll’s recovery. Hamate injuries are tricky-some players bounce back quickly, others struggle to regain their power stroke for months. Every case is different, and until the team provides a post-surgery update, the timeline remains uncertain.
What is certain: Corbin Carroll is the heartbeat of this Diamondbacks team. Losing him, even temporarily, is a major blow. Arizona’s young core has shown resilience before, and they’ll need every bit of it to weather this storm.