A bad night for the Diamondbacks against the Mets got worse when star outfielder Corbin Carroll had to leave the game with an apparent injury.
Arizona was trailing 9-0 in the seventh inning when Carroll came to the plate for his third at-bat. After taking a ball on the first pitch, the odds-on favorite in the NL Rookie of the Year race took a mighty swing at Carlos Carrasco's 1-0 offering.
After swinging through the pitch, Carroll immediately reached up to his right shoulder, in pain. He exited the game not shortly thereafter.
This doesn't look good.
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) July 7, 2023
Corbin Carroll leaves the game in visible pain after a swing. pic.twitter.com/UbraB4y5ua
Carroll was replaced by Kyle Lewis, who popped out to second base in his stead.
However, the Diamondbacks will be less concerned about Thursday's game and more worried about Carroll's status moving forward.
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Corbin Carroll injury update
Carroll suffered an apparent right shoulder injury during the Diamondbacks vs. Mets game on Thursday.
The club didn't provide an immediate update on what was ailing Carroll. However, it's worth noting that he had season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in 2021 to repair a posterior capsular avulsion and labrum tear.
Carroll also dealt with discomfort in that shoulder just a week earlier after a swing against the Rays.
“Really weird feeling in my shoulder that I hadn't felt since the injury had happened,” he said of that swing, per MLB.com. “So it shook me up pretty good. [I] was pretty concerned and just wanted to make sure that the stability was all there. And they checked it out, and I got the green light there, which was a huge weight off my shoulders. And now it's just kind of, 'Move forward and progress and take it day to day.'”
That may have been Arizona's original plan, but that seems likely to change after his most recent shoulder injury. That could be a major issue for the team, which entered play Thursday in first place in the NL West with a 50-37 record.
Carroll has been a big part of Arizona's success, as he has been a revelation for the Diamondbacks in his first full season with the team. The 22-year-old, who was a first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has been one of the best players in baseball this season. He entered Thursday's contest having slashed .292/.367/.563 with 18 homers and 24 steals while producing 3.8 bWAR, tied for the seventh-best mark in MLB.
Carroll's strong performance was enough to earn him a starting spot in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. It also put him atop the NL's Rookie of the Year race even despite the recent emergence of Elly De La Cruz.
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So, suffice to say that the Diamondbacks can ill afford to lose Carroll. But if they are without him, they will rely on the likes of Dominic Fletcher and Kyle Lewis to see more regular at-bats and help replace him in the lineup.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would also be a candidate to see increased playing time in left field as opposed to his more typical designated hitter role.