The star of the Diamondbacks Corbin Carroll broke the hamate bone in his right hand yesterday during batting practice, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports. He is expected to have surgery today, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. That will sideline Carroll for most of camp and will likely put him on the disabled list to start the 2026 season.
It’s a bad note to start camp on for the D-backs and their fans. Carroll, the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year, is already a two-time All-Star and finished sixth in National League MVP voting last season after hitting .259/.343/.541 with 31 home runs, 32 doubles, 17 triples, 32 stolen bases (in 38 attempts and 4% walks which is 2 percent), a 2 percent estimate of 2 moves. 642 trips to the plate. No player in baseball gave up fewer runs than Carroll in 2025, according to FanGraphs’ BsR metric, and he was 39% better than average at the plate in wRC+.
The Diamondbacks have not provided an official timetable for Carroll’s recovery and it likely won’t be until after his surgery. It’s a common injury though – as both Jackson Holliday and Francisco Lindor can attest – and they usually hit the shelves for anywhere from four to eight weeks. Hamate injuries (and hand injuries in general) tend to last longer and affect a hitter’s power, but every injury situation is different. Arizona should provide more details in the coming days.
With Carroll likely IL-bound, the D-backs’ already uncertain outside mix now looks even more dire. Arizona is for sale Jake McCarthy for the Rockies on the heels of a couple of disappointing seasons earlier this winter. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. he will open the season on the injured list as he continues to rehabilitate the ACL he suffered last season. High hopes Jordan Lawler he was already moving from the field to the outfield this season but now it looks like he will start the season there. A middle player Alex Thomas he’s a solid defender, but he’s only four seasons into his MLB career and his bat isn’t up to his previous best. Midfielder/Outfielder Blaze Alexander traded to the Orioles last week.
Suffice it to say, the outfield options on Arizona’s roster are slim, at best. Lawlar and Thomas are likely to be locked into starting roles by default. First baseman/designated hitter Pavin Smith he has some experience in the outside corners but has performed as a poor defender. The latest signing of the Carlos Santana it was meant to give the lefty-swinging Smith a solid teammate at first, but Santana could play first base with Smith guarding the corner of the infield for a while.
The one who plays outside Jorge Barrosa he’s on the 40-man roster and out of minor league options, but he’s a .148/.170/.239 hitter in 95 big league plate appearances with a league average record at the Triple-A level. Midfielder/Outfielder Tim Tawa hit 31 homers at Triple-A in 2024 but hit .201/.274/.347 in 205 MLB plate appearances this past season; spent more time in the infield during his professional career but has 1519 innings of outfield experience.
If the D-backs are feeling particularly aggressive, they can quickly trail Ryan Waldschmidtthe No. 1 overall pick. 31 in 2024, in the major leagues. The 23-year-old isn’t even eligible to play in Triple-A yet, but he scorched opponents in both High-A and Double-A last season. In 601 combined plate appearances (split equally between the two levels), the University of Kentucky product slashed .289/.419/.473 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, three triples, 29 steals (39 attempts), a 16% walk rate and a 17.6% strikeout rate. Baseball America currently ranks Waldschmidt as the game’s No. 48 overall prospect.
It’s also possible, of course, that the D-backs are looking to bring in some outside help from outside the organization. That being said, it was already a bit of a mix — at least in terms of established options — so even designating a veteran to a minor league contract with an undrafted spring training invite might have been prudent. Mike Tauchman, Mark Canha and an old friend Randal Grichuk are among the most notable unsigned names still on the market. Spring training naturally presents opportunities to acquire some veterans as they come off minor league deals and/or inexperienced players find themselves designated for assignment when other clubs make final additions. The D-backs could monitor both markets as they look to bring in depth due to Carroll’s injury.
