GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Corbin Carroll is scheduled to appear in his first Cactus League game of the spring on Wednesday afternoon against the A's at Salt River Fields.
Carroll, who has been sidelined all spring with a broken hamate bone, will serve as the team's designated hitter, and, while the plan for him after that will be determined by how he feels, it seems likely that at least initially he will DH.
In addition, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said that right-hander Merrill Kelly, who has not pitched in a Cactus League game this spring due to a back issue, will start Friday night's game against the Royals in Surprise and pitch one inning.
Carroll suffered a broken right hamate bone on Feb. 10 while taking a swing during a live batting practice session. He had surgery to remove the bone the next day, and by the day after that, he was back in camp working on his throwing (it was his non-throwing hand that was injured) and strength training. He took live batting practice on March 6 and 8 before lining up for his spring debut.
While the normal recovery time is six weeks for the injury, Diamondbacks officials felt all along that Carroll would be ready in time for the March 26 opener because of his quick healing ability and tremendous work ethic.
"I don't want to say he's any different than any other human body, but he just has an unbelievable, real determination," Lovullo said. "I think he plows through a little bit of pain, a little bit of frustration. He doesn't have bad days. I'm sure he does internally, but he doesn't show it. He's just going out there and just fighting, fighting, fighting through everything that he possibly can. There's a high pain threshold, and I know that's the case."
By getting back into a game on Wednesday, Carroll would seemingly be on track to open the season in right field for Arizona.
What Kelly's status will be come Opening Day is less certain, as he will need to build up his pitch and innings count. It may be that he either opens the year pitching at the back end of the rotation or has a short IL stint to begin the season before he’s ready to rejoin the rotation.
"I don't know what that answer is," Lovullo said. "Anything is possible. Anything is on the table. We want to make sure everybody's comfortably stretched out for the first two times through the starting rotation."
By signing right-hander Mike Soroka in December and re-signing Zac Gallen just after camp opened, the Diamondbacks do have sufficient rotation depth to manage if Kelly misses a couple of turns in the rotation to open the year.
"It's going to be a little bit of a challenge," Lovullo said of getting Kelly stretched out in time. "And yes, rather than force it, I would say, if we can't get to the point where he's built up, and it's looking like that might be the case, let's just wait a turn and not put a lot of strain or pressure on the bullpen."