Corbin Carroll’s struggles at the plate have been well-documented the season. Coming off a unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign, Carroll has endured a tough sophomore slump. In 57 games, he’s batting .194 with two home runs and a .563 OPS. Adding in increasingly worse center field defense, his total contributions have added up to be below replacement level, at -0.1 WAR.
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This is the second time that manager Torey Lovullo has lowered the struggling Carroll down in the order this season. They moved him down the order for a 10-game stretch between April 24 and May 5. After going hitless in his first four games, he was 6-for-22 (.273) against the Dodgers and Padres before the team moved him back up to the top of the order. Since returning to the top of the order, Carroll is batting .181 with a .585 OPS. While there is more extra-base hit impact, with three doubles, four triples, and a home run, there hasn’t been much improvement. His struggles came to a head when the Diamondbacks went through a six-game stretch where they scored a total of nine runs as the rest of the lineup struggled along with him.
Arizona will need to find a way to get Carroll’s bat untracked if there is any hope for salvaging this season. Not only has his bat been missed, but the speed element he brings has also been missing. With Carroll struggling to make quality contact and reach base, the Diamondbacks rank 19th in home runs and 23rd in stolen bases. Last season, they embraced the speed and chaos they built on the bases, something that’s been missing in 2024 with a new lineup and many of their best stealers rendered ineffective due to injuries or slumps.
The Diamondbacks and Corbin Carroll have 103 games left in the season to try to figure out how to end this sophomore slump. With Jorge Barrosa activated off the injured list and back in the lineup with Triple-A and Alek Thomas will eventually return from a hamstring strain, the clock may be ticking for Carroll to show improvement at the plate. Otherwise, they may need to send him down to Triple-A to clear his head for a couple of weeks and work on getting his swing right.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
