TEMPE — 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.
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.
“I would not be surprised if Corbin is ready by Opening Day, that’s my gut feel,” Lovullo said. “The trajectory that he’s on, the success in which he’s having each and every day, he’s pushing as hard as he can.
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“He’s still under the medical guidelines. Nobody will sign off on it until they all think that he’s ready. So we’ll probably have to pull him back a little bit, but I like that he’s feeling as good as he is. … If I know Corbin, he’s got it mapped out to the day about what he has to do and what he’s going to try to accomplish. But we’ve got to be smart.”
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.
He’s 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.
Opening Day at Dodger Stadium is on March 26. Carroll told the Foul Territory podcast on Feb. 18 that he was targeting the season opener.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. remains ahead of schedule
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.
“He is so far ahead of schedule that we’re trying to pull him back a little,” Lovullo said. “He’s just like Corbin. … 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’re here to work and get better. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing.”
Letting Carroll push is a bit different than Gurriel due to the latter’s 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.
Adrian Del Castillo update
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.
“Del is starting to increase his volume,” Lovullo said. “What exactly does that mean time-wise? I don’t have that.”
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/l6WGJDV
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