On a day that ran the gamut of emotions, Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll’s afternoon ended with joy.
After feeling a sensation in his surgically repaired right shoulder that “shook me up pretty good” and forced his removal from Thursday’s game, Carroll was elected a starting outfielder for the National League in next month’s All-Star Game, a game that will be played in his hometown of Seattle.
“Really cool,” Carroll said. “One of my goals was to be in this game and to be starting it is just that much more of a cherry on top.”
Carroll said he felt something “really weird” in his right shoulder during his at-bat in the third inning and came close to calling trainers out to the field. He opted to finish the at-bat, which ended with a strikeout, and wound up exiting the game two innings later.
Given that he underwent surgery in 2021 to repair tears in the labrum and posterior capsule of the same shoulder, Carroll admitted to having heightened sensitivity to what he felt in the shoulder.
“I think that if I hadn’t had a shoulder surgery, a major surgery on that shoulder, that I might have just kind of written it off,” he said. “But it was a feeling that I’d only felt after that swing had happened (two years ago when the initial injury occurred). Just wanted to get everything cleared.”
Carroll’s concerns were briefly amplified when a test administered by a trainer flagged it for “possible instability,” he said. That prompted his removal from the game. But his worries were alleviated when further testing came back clean.
That testing did not include any sort of imaging; for now, at least, the team does not believe the injury warrants an MRI. He is considered day to day, manager Torey Lovullo said.
“They checked it out and I got the green light there, which was a huge weight off my shoulders,” Carroll said. “Now it’s just kind of move forward and progress and take it day by day.”
Lovullo said his concern going forward was “minimal” but added that the club might opt to make a roster move to provide additional outfield coverage for the time being.
For Carroll’s shoulder issue to be minor is a huge weight off the Diamondbacks’ shoulders, as well. Carroll has been a major part of the club’s charge to the top of the National League West at the season’s halfway point.
Carroll, 22, is hitting .290 with 17 homers, 24 steals and a .925 OPS, ranking among the league leaders in a variety of categories.
After fan voting for the All-Star Game closed earlier in the day, Carroll was announced as a starting outfielder later in the afternoon. He joins the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts in the NL outfield for the July 11 game.
Sitting in a comfy chair in the Diamondbacks clubhouse, Carroll was congratulated and hugged by teammates, who hollered and applauded when his All-Star selection was announced on ESPN after Thursday’s game.
Carroll grew up in Seattle as a Mariners fan, following players like Ichiro Suzuki and Felix Hernandez. This will be his first time playing at T-Mobile Park, which he knew as Safeco Field during his childhood.
“That’s the ballpark I grew up knowing,” Carroll said. “That’s going to be special to be able to play there.”
In one afternoon, he went from concern to relief over his shoulder to excitement about making the All-Star team. He was asked how it felt to be on such a rollercoaster.
“I guess at the end of the day it’s a great reminder to never take a day in this game for granted,” Carroll said. “Every day out there is a great one. That’s probably the biggest thing there.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks all-star Corbin Carroll cleared after shoulder injury concerns