NL West Notes: Carroll, Glasnow, Garcia, Freeland, Black

Corbin Carroll has missed the Diamondbacks’ last four games due to a sore left hand, after the outfielder was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays.  X-rays were negative and manager Torey Lovullo indicated today that Carroll’s hand was improving to some extent, but the skipper told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other media that Carroll would undergo an MRI as an extra precaution.  “Just because it’s not progressing as quickly as we wanted it to, and because of what we’ve just gone through with [Gabriel Moreno] and several of the injuries that we’ve been taking on, we want to definitely get a baseline,” Lovullo said.

In Moreno’s case, what apparently seemed like a minor hand injury ended up leading to a much longer expected absence, as a second MRI revealed a hairline fracture in the catcher’s right index figure.  Such an outcome for Carroll would be devastating, as the young star has bounced back from a fairly ordinary 2024 campaign to hit .255/.341/.573 with 20 home runs in his first 323 plate appearances of 2025.  Only 12 players in baseball have a higher wRC+ than Carroll’s 148, so naturally even losing him for a few days has been a hit to Arizona’s lineup.  Losing Carroll to a more serious hand issue might well change the trajectory of the Diamondbacks’ season, as it would make it even harder for the Snakes to make up ground in both the crowded NL West or in the NL wild card picture.

More from around the NL West…

• Tyler Glasnow and Luis Garcia each began minor league rehab assignments today, with Glasnow tossing two innings for the Dodgers’ Triple-A Oklahoma City and Garcia throwing an inning with the Dodgers’ A-ball affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga.  Glasnow has been on the injured list (first the 15-day and then the 60-day) since late April due to shoulder inflammation, and is expected to make at least three rehab outings before a potential return to the Los Angeles rotation.  Garcia has been out since late May due to an adductor strain and probably won’t need as much of a build-up to return to his bullpen role, so a return before the end of June seems possible.
• Kyle Freeland is hoping to return from the 15-day IL when first eligible on Friday, the Rockies left-hander told MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters.  Lower back stiffness led to Freeland’s IL placement, but he said “everything felt great” after a 50-pitch bullpen session today.  The plan is for a shorter bullpen session on Tuesday as the final step in an abbreviated recovery process, and the extended 50-pitch outing today was meant to get Freeland into something of a simulated game environment without the need for any rehab starts.
• Sticking with the Rockies, another quick return of a more unusual fashion may be occurring if Bud Black rejoins the organization.  Fired as Colorado’s manager on May 11, “Black is a strong candidate to rejoin the Rockies as a pitching director or special assistant,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.  While some managers are occasionally re-assigned to a new role within an organization in lieu of being altogether axed, such shuffling usually happens at the time of a managerial change, not a little over a month afterwards.  Black managed the Rockies to a 544-690 record over eight-plus seasons, as playoff appearances in 2017-18 gave way to six straight losing seasons, plus Colorado’s current 18-60 record under Black and interim manager Warren Schaeffer.