D-backs’ Corbin Carroll explains shoulder situation, gets fully cleared for All-Star Game

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks fully cleared outfielder Corbin Carroll for all baseball activities, including the MLB All-Star Game, after he exited Thursday’s game holding onto his right shoulder.

Carroll described the feeling in his shoulder after swinging through a pitch as a shock with some tingling followed by a numb hand.

He thought the shoulder popped out of its socket and his season was in jeopardy.

Less than 24 hours later, Carroll was in the D-backs’ starting lineup, playing center field and batting second.

“There’s nothing that showed up in the MRI,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We have baselines with him, obviously with everything that he’s been through. Everything showed up exactly the same.”

It was the same right shoulder Carroll had season-ending surgery on in 2021, and just last week he missed three starts after exiting a game due to right shoulder soreness after an at-bat.

Not only was Carroll back in the order for the D-backs, but Lovullo said he will not be restricted at the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Seattle, the rookie’s hometown.

“I was pretty crushed even just walking off the field,” Carroll said. “My feeling was just like, ‘There’s no way. I’m holding onto my arm.’ It’s just hard to put into words being able to go through everything today normal.”

Carroll said he didn’t have any soreness swinging the bat on Friday before first pitch.

His peace of mind came from seeing the swing and how “awkward” it was, evaluating the shoulder with the medical team and then receiving the MRI results.

D-backs All-Star Corbin Carroll broke down what happened in the at-bat he had the injury scare in on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/2Djz5K85ls

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 8, 2023

So what happened?

Lovullo compared it to a “stinger,” which is a more common occurrence in football.

“He felt some sort of a sensation that in talking to the trainers I was told is similar to a stinger in football,” Lovullo said. “For anybody who has played football, I’m sure you guys have had one. For those of you who have covered football, you know what they are. And that that is something that obviously scared Corbin, it scared all of us.”

Carroll said the feeling was a bit different from last week, as his hand didn’t have the same sensation previously. He pointed out that his shoulder pushed forward by the momentum of the swing, as he whiffed on a low changeup.

Lovullo explained that Carroll and the organization are hypersensitive to the right shoulder because the surgery wasn’t very common in baseball. He had a procedure to repair a torn labrum and capsules after getting injured on a home run swing.

Because of this, Lovullo said he relies on Carroll speaking up if anything feels off.

“There are books on a lot of the types of injuries that we see a lot of in baseball, but with this one, he’s solo,” Lovullo said. “That’s a lot to manage. And he gets scared. He’s a human being and he gets scared as everybody else would.”

Carroll was asked about whether he thought about keeping his left hand on the bat longer during his swing, but he felt that thinking too much while hitting was disadvantageous.

Lovullo had a version of Friday’s lineup with Carroll on the bench. He told the rookie that he would get the day off.

Carroll asked to play, and Lovullo obliged.

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