{"id":506124,"date":"2026-02-28T22:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T22:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/506124\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T22:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T22:36:09","slug":"diamondbacks-corbin-carroll-playing-opening-day-would-not-be-surprising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/506124\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll playing Opening Day would not be surprising"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEMPE \u2014 Opening Day is less than a month away, and Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Corbin Carroll is predictably pushing hard to return to action after breaking his right hamate bone earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His progress led manager Torey Lovullo to say on Saturday that he would not be surprised to see Carroll play on Opening Day, which has been up in the air based on the typical timeline of the hand injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not be surprised if Corbin is ready by Opening Day, that\u2019s my gut feel,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cThe trajectory that he\u2019s on,\u00a0the success in which he\u2019s having each and every day, he\u2019s pushing as hard as he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still under the medical guidelines. Nobody will sign off on it until they all think that he\u2019s ready. So we\u2019ll probably have to pull him back a little bit,\u00a0but I like that he\u2019s feeling as good as he is. \u2026 If I know Corbin, he\u2019s got it mapped out to the day about what he has to do and what he\u2019s going to try to accomplish. But we\u2019ve got to be smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carroll returned to Salt River Fields the day after surgery to remove his broken hamate and was seen throwing a weighted ball against the wall.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s since been out and about running the bases, swinging in the cages with one hand and continuing to built up his arm strength since the injury was to his non-throwing hand.<\/p>\n

Opening Day at Dodger Stadium is on March 26. Carroll told the Foul Territory podcast<\/a> on Feb. 18 that he was targeting the season opener.<\/p>\n

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. remains ahead of schedule<\/p>\n

Speaking of outfielders pushing to return from injury, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is scheduled to hit off the Trajekt pitching machine on Sunday after hitting in the cages on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is so far ahead of schedule<\/a> that we\u2019re trying to pull him back a little,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cHe\u2019s just like Corbin. \u2026 They both want to play a game as soon as possible, but it kind of sets a tone for the rest of the guys. We\u2019re here to work and get better. It doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Letting Carroll push is a bit different than Gurriel due to the latter\u2019s injury (torn ACL). The Diamondbacks have an understanding with Gurriel that one wrong step and his progress takes a massive hit, but there continues to be encouragement with how far along he is. He will not be ready for Opening Day, but he does not look doomed to miss half the season as it appeared when he got carted off the field last September.<\/p>\n

Adrian Del Castillo update<\/p>\n

There is still no timetable for catcher Adrian Del Castillo to play games (calf), but he is ramping up his baseball activities. Del Castillo has been catching bullpens and hitting in the cages after Lovullo previously said his Opening Day status was in doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cDel is starting to increase his volume,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cWhat exactly does that mean time-wise? I don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow @alexjweiner<\/a><\/p>\n

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