SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Torey Lovullo was walking toward a waiting media gathering following the Diamondbacks' first pitchers and catchers workout of the spring Tuesday when he bumped into right fielder Corbin Carroll, who like a lot of position players was in camp early.
"I think I just broke my hand," Carroll told him.
"You're kidding right?" the Diamondbacks' manager replied.
But it was no joke.
Carroll broke the hamate bone on his right (non-throwing) hand while taking a swing during live batting practice. Carroll had homered in the swing before and then fouled a pitch off and immediately looked down at his hand.
Carroll underwent surgery Wednesday on his hand, and it's not certain how long he will be out for. In a best-case scenario, he could return to action around Opening Day.
One thing that is for certain is that Carroll will not be able to play for Team USA in next month's World Baseball Classic, something he very much wanted to do.
"When I talked to [Carroll] on the phone last night, that was the first thing that he mentioned that he wasn't going to be able to do that," Lovullo said of the WBC.
The Diamondbacks certainly hope that Carroll is ready as quickly as possible given that he has been a key driver of their offense since the former first-round pick was called up to the big leagues in August 2022.
Carroll won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2023, when he helped lead Arizona to an appearance in the World Series.
The two-time All-Star slashed .259/.343/.541 with an OPS+ of 140 last season while leading the Majors with 17 triples.
In other words, he's not easily replaceable.
Once he got word of Carroll's injury, Lovullo started pondering how he could shuffle things in the outfield, which will already be without left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for at least the beginning of the year after a serious knee injury late last season.
One possibility that Lovullo mentioned was shifting Alek Thomas from center to right field. The team has wanted to give former first-round pick Jordan Lawlar -- an infielder throughout his amateur and pro career -- a look in the outfield with center field being the first option.
What that would mean for left field remains to be seen. The Diamondbacks also have Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa, who can play all three outfield positions, so Lovullo will have options should Carroll have to miss time during the regular season.
Carroll's injury was the latest in a number of hamate bone injuries with the Mets' Francisco Lindor and the Orioles' Jackson Holliday also coming down with the injury over the past two days.
"It's a part of the game and it's been a part of the game for a long time," Lovullo said of hamate injuries. "In the baseball world, we see it all the time. I don't know why."
Injuries have been an unfortunate theme for the Diamondbacks over the past 12 months.
Last year, they lost ace right-hander Corbin Burnes and co-closers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez to ulnar collateral ligament injuries that will keep the trio out for varying amounts of time this year.
"I'm not going to play that game with myself, because I felt like I was feeling sorry for myself last year with the amount of injuries that we had," Lovullo said when asked if it felt unfair to have another key injury. "So I'm not going to even give myself an opportunity to think like that and I'm not going to allow the team to think like that."
Veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado, who was acquired from the Cardinals during the offseason, was hitting in the same group as Carroll when the injury happened.
"He hit a homer the pitch before," Arenado said. "But you know that injury is frustrating, but it's not a long-term issue. So as long as he rehabs it right, he'll be just fine. He'll come back just absolutely great, and we'll just hold the fort down until he comes back."