Corbin Carroll is injured.
He’s also not planning on missing any time for the Arizona Diamondbacks despite being hurt.
It’s September, and the games matter as the MLB postseason race takes shape. Carroll evidently doesn’t want to miss out on that.
Still, it makes it a bit tricky for Arizona to navigate as its young superstar wants to remain in the lineup despite being at less than 100%.
What Is Corbin Carroll’s Injury?
Carroll is dealing with “low back discomfort,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters on Tuesday night, via MLB.com.
The reason Lovullo was asked about it at all was because Carroll looked uncomfortable as he ran down the first-base line in the sixth inning and also was shown on the television broadcast speaking with an athletic trainer.
Carroll didn’t leave the game, and he doesn’t plan on missing time. He’s in Wednesday’s Arizona starting lineup, as well.
Why Is Corbin Carroll Playing Through Injury?
Carroll simply doesn’t want to let his teammates down.
“It’s that time of the year.” Lovullo said after Tuesday’s game, emphasizing that everyone is a bit dinged up these days. “I just had a conversation with the medical team, trying to figure out if it’s the right thing to do to get him off his feet, and Corbin wants to play. Corbin wants to get in there, and he wants to go out and play, and I’m fine with that.”
Arizona’s Tuesday night loss has them a half-game behind the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card standings.
Carroll saw a few seasons ago how a team can get hot and make surprise noise in the postseason. He knows that if Arizona gets in the dance, there’s a chance.
With that in mind, don’t expect to see Carroll sitting out these big games.
“That’s how he’s wired,” Lovullo said on Tuesday. “It’s that time of year where you’ve got to put it on, put it together, and go out and play. And Corbin’s going to do that for us.”
The Diamondbacks do have a day off on Thursday, which helps the cause for recovery a bit.
MLB.com does note that Carroll is hitting just .189 over his last 15 games, but Lovullo pushed back against the idea that the back problem had anything to do with that.
“I don’t think so,” Lovullo said. “He has not complained about it one time. I think he’s just got to swing at good pitches. That’s what it comes down to. If he’s swinging at the pitches that he’s looking for, he’s going to impact the baseball, and that’s the same for anybody.”
The Diamondbacks do have a bit of additional outfield depth thanks to the presence of rookie Ryan Waldschmidt, who isn’t in the lineup on Wednesday but would be a logical fill-in for Carroll if the star needs any time off.
Carroll himself though doesn’t seem to have any intention of missing action while the Diamondbacks are still in the hunt for the postseason.
Corbin Carroll Injury News Leaves Uncertainty for Diamondbacks