Corbin

Carroll

The Diamondbacks made an incredible run during the final week to push the Phillies to the brink, but they were unable to clear the final hurdle. Carroll was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning once Arizona was officially eliminated from playoff contention following Philadelphia’s win over Tampa Bay. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone battled a lingering back issue down the home stretch, but still managed to finish with 22 homers and 21 steals in 156 games. He’ll be an early-round selection in all fantasy leagues next spring.

He did so from the seventh spot in the order, a product of Torey Lovullo trying way too hard to make something happen. Carroll’s average has been in decline, but the homer tonight was his third in seven games, and he still has the second-best OPS among D-backs regulars. At least it didn’t make much of difference tonight; the team would have need him batting first, second and third in this one.

Carroll’s homer off Jack Ralston barely stayed fair down the right field line. He also had an RBI single on a blooper to left in the fifth. It was a nice way to shake off a rough start to the month that had seen him go 5-for-33 with a 14/0 K/BB in his last nine games. A loss tonight would have been devastating to Arizona’s postseason chances with the Padres winning. As is, the D-backs are 2 1/2 games behind San Diego, 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies and four games behind the Cubs with 11 to play. They’ll have to overtake one of the three in order to secure a berth.

The 382-foot homer came after two games off due to back discomfort. It was his 20th of the year, so he’s now reached that mark in all four of his full seasons through age 25.

Carroll missed the previous two games due to soreness in his back, but an MRI on Thursday didn’t show anything concerning and the superstar outfielder is back out there in right field for Friday’s tilt against Rangers’ left-hander MacKenzie Gore. Fantasy managers can go ahead and make sure he’s active for the weekend.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports, the Diamondbacks didn’t find anything concerning in Carroll’s MRI exam and the expectation is that he’ll return to action on Friday after missing each of the Diamondbacks’ previous two games. Fantasy managers should be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

As expected, Carroll remains out of Arizona’s lineup for the second straight game. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone is slated to undergo an MRI on his back later this week to determine the severity of the issue. There should be some much-needed clarity on his status, including whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list, prior to Friday’s series opener against the Rangers.

Carroll was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with low back discomfort, and it appears the injury may be an actual issue. The Diamondbacks are off on Thursday and then home against the Rangers on Friday, so there is a chance that Carroll could return for that game if his imaging comes back clean. We likely won’t know for sure until Friday morning, but Carroll has really been struggling since the All-Star break, and this might be the reason why.

Carroll was dropped to the fifth spot in Arizona’s lineup over the weekend as his second-half struggles continue. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone is hitting just .215 with six homers and 11 steals in 48 games since the All-Star break. It’ll be versatile Tim Tawa taking over in right field in his absence. There should be an update on his status following the contest, but fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Carroll has been struggling in the second half, batting .212 (36-for-170) with six homers and 11 steals in 45 games since the All-Star break. He’s been ice-cold recently, batting .179 (10-for-56) with one homer and four thefts over his last 15 games. Clearly, the Diamondbacks need to get Carroll back on track if they’re going to have any shot at the postseason. The hope for fantasy managers is that a move down in the order helps take off some some of the pressure going forward.