SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll was not surprised to be back on the field on Wednesday only one month after hand surgery, saying he’s on track to reach his goal of being ready for Opening Day.
Carroll took three at-bats as the designated hitter for the Diamondbacks against the Athletics at Salt River Fields, finishing 0-for-3 with a pair of hard-hit baseballs.
Carroll faced hard-throwing right-hander Luis Morales to lead off the first inning, smashing the second pitch into the ground. It resulted in a ground out to second base, but the ball came off the bat at a scorching 113.6 mph — he only hit two baseballs in fair ground harder during the 2025 regular season.
Corbin Carroll grounds out to second base in his first AB of the spring, but the ball came off the bat 113.6 mph. pic.twitter.com/BdOhbGo0Yc
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 11, 2026
He flew out to left field in his next at-bat and struck out after a couple foul balls against Morales to end his afternoon.
“It felt fine, obviously it’s not going to feel perfect, but manageable,” Carroll said. “I’m just trying to work through it as best as I can and make sure I’m ready to go.”
Carroll did not want to elaborate on what he was feeling specifically one month to the day after surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in his right hand.
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He did not wear a brace while hitting but used an axe handle bat, which does not have a round knob, because it felt “less painful.”
Since the bone has been removed, there is no risk of Carroll doing more damage to it, so it comes down to pain tolerance.
According to a 2020 report from the American Journal of Sports Medicine, 81% of 261 players studied at least returned to the level they were at before hamate surgery. Most players experienced a small decrease in production temporarily, but like with anything, there are examples of players struggling with the pain all season and others who came out just fine after some time passed.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people that have had the hamate issue, the hamate surgery,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “They say that it takes a little time until you’re fully recovered and feeling 100%. Corbin’s clock is a little bit different than everybody’s. I’m sure he’s gonna feel something in there. It’s not gonna be perfect. But keep in mind, this is somebody that broke his hand and three weeks later was back on the field (last season).”
Carroll had been getting live at-bats on the backfields, and after saying last week that he’d like to get 10 games in, he changed his tone for what the rest of spring training could look like.
“Originally I was thinking maybe a few more games, now maybe leaning a little bit more towards getting games in but also getting those backfield at-bats,” Carroll said. “Those are really nice because you can get more than you could in a game. We’ll see.”
Carroll said he expects to DH a few more times as he works on defense behind the scenes to manage his build-up.
Lovullo said he did not think Carroll would return quite this quickly but did not put anything past him. The expectation is Carroll will be back in the lineup this weekend.
Opening Day starting pitcher Zac Gallen laughed and said he was not surprised at all to see his teammate on the lineup card.
“I think he’s just one of those guys that his presence in the lineup and on the field just makes everybody that much better. Guys are excited he’s back,” Gallen said.
Corbin Carroll went 0-for-3 with a couple hard-hit balls and a K today.
“Obviously it’s not gonna feel perfect, but manageable and just trying to work through it as best I can.” pic.twitter.com/6GIVTZZBKQ
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 11, 2026
Ryne Nelson said Opening Day starter is goal for himself
When Lovullo announced on Wednesday that Gallen would start on Opening Day against the Dodgers, he made it a point to mention Ryne Nelson’s time was coming.
The Diamondbacks took a few weeks to determine a new Day 1 starter after Merrill Kelly’s back issue took him off the table, and Gallen received the nod for the fourth time.
Nelson, who was Arizona’s best starting pitcher last season (3.16 ERA in 23 starts), started Wednesday’s game against the A’s, and he said afterward it is a goal of his to start on Opening Day at some point.
“That’s a thing that I picture myself doing,” Nelson said. “Just work every day to be the best version of myself for when the opportunity does come along, then I’ll be ready for it.”
Nelson said he was not disappointed by the decision, claiming he had not heard about it until the moment he was asked postgame.
“It could have been any one of our pitchers and everybody would have done a good job,” Nelson said.
Nelson threw 3.1 innings (started five innings) with three earned runs, four strikeouts and 10 whiffs on Wednesday.
He felt good other than a few pitches left over the plate that resulted in two home runs. His velocity decreased inning by inning as Nelson stretched out to 56 pitches.
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