PHOENIX -- Like the rest of his Diamondbacks teammates, third baseman Eugenio Suárez got Saturday’s lineup texted to him late Friday night.
When he saw who was hitting leadoff, he did a double-take. Yes, outfielder Corbin Carroll is back far sooner than expected after suffering a chip fracture in his hand on June 18.
“Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable,” Suárez said.
There was never a specific timeline set for Carroll after the injury, but once he was told that playing would not further injure the fracture and that it was more a matter of pain tolerance, he went into overdrive to return.
On the day manager Torey Lovullo said Carroll was cleared to swing a bat without a ball, Carroll was in the cage hitting baseballs.
Thursday, Carroll was scheduled to hit in the cage. When he finished his session, he found Lovullo and told him he felt so good he wanted to play in an Arizona Complex League game that night. Carroll hopped in his car, dressed in baseball pants, and drove to the team’s Spring Training complex in Scottsdale and got four plate appearances.
Lovullo was amazed, but to Carroll it wasn’t a big deal.
“It’s like a 20-minute drive…” Carroll said. “I wanted to get back here and it’s kind of time to go.”
That’s Carroll, though, always determined and always with a routine to accomplish it.
“He just wants to help the team win,” Suárez said. “And he’s hungry to play. He’s a guy who loves this game and just wants to be out on the field. It’s very impressive because with the fracture he has, they said he might be lost for like a month, but he’s back [much sooner]. It’s awesome for us. For me, I was very happy to see him back in the lineup.”
After playing in the ACL game Thursday night, Carroll hit off rehabbing reliever Kendall Graveman in a batting practice session Friday morning. Saturday, he was back in the lineup against the Royals, going 0-for-5 in a 7-1 victory at Chase Field.
“Just listened to my body,” Carroll said. “The first couple days swinging, you know, each day kind of stacked on top of each other, where one felt better than the next. And then the function came back in terms of the bat speed, which was kind of what I was measuring there first days, I was like, 'oh no.' And then [Friday] was much, much better. Just kind of got it to a spot where it was good to go.”
The Diamondbacks are hoping that Carroll’s return can be a spark for a team that has lost seven of its last nine games and fallen below the .500 mark.
“I'm grateful for the commitment and the dedication,” Lovullo said. “He's one of our best players and one of the best players in the National League and the fact that he's in the lineup is going to give us a much needed boost.”
To make room for Carroll, the team optioned rookie infielder/outfielder Tim Tawa to Triple-A Reno.
Tawa had been struggling of late with just one hit in his last 27 plate appearances with no walks and 10 strikeouts.
“Timmy came on very strong, and he helped us win some games early,” Lovullo said. “And I just think there was a pitching plan against him, and he wasn't making adjustments, and started, in my opinion, perhaps losing a little confidence. You could see the way he was playing. It was a little bit of a grind.”