Phoenix, Arizona: Diamondbacks Star Corbin Carroll Has Elbow Surgery, Eyes December Return to Swinging

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll had surgery this week to remove loose bodies in his right elbow and should be ready for the scheduled start of spring training in February, the team confirmed on Friday. The Associated Press reported that a full recovery is expected to take about eight weeks.

Carroll told The Arizona Republic on Friday, November 6, that the surgery took place on Thursday, November 5. It was a minor, minimally invasive NanoScope procedure, and he hopes it will set back his offseason work by less than a month.

Discomfort during the season, worse last week

Carroll told the Republic he felt a little bit of discomfort in the elbow during the season and that the discomfort worsened last week. "I am guessing a couple broke off during the season and a couple broke off last week," he said. "Last week was when I really had significant symptoms where it was like, hey this is worth taking a look."

The procedure is the same NanoScope operation Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal had this past season, which let Skubal return from the injured list in six weeks, the Republic reported. Carroll equated its severity to his spring hamate procedure.

"It is the removal of something as opposed to fixing something," Carroll said. "I would say in terms of the pain and all that, so far it has been less than the hamate."

Swinging again in early December

Carroll had planned to start hitting in the middle of November and to begin making offseason adjustments to his swing. He said he had not yet started that swing work. The surgery pushes his hitting back about two weeks, and he now hopes to start swinging a bat at the beginning of December, inside the eight week recovery window the team gave on Friday.

The back is the bigger project

Though the right elbow needed the surgery, Carroll said the bigger issue for him this season was his back. He said the back has been a focus for him over the past month and that he is working in the weight room to get himself in good positions in hopes of avoiding similar back problems in the future.

The elbow operation is the second procedure of his year. In February he had surgery to repair a broken hamate bone, an injury that forced him to withdraw from Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, Arizona Sports reported. He still played 156 games this past season despite the injury problems, according to Arizona Sports.

A Gold Glove season behind him

Carroll, 26, is coming off a season in which he hit .239 with a .328 on-base percentage and a .467 slugging percentage, with 22 home runs, 33 doubles and a league-leading 17 triples. Arizona Sports put his RBI total at 78 and noted he was named an All-Star in 2026.

Earlier this week Carroll won his first Gold Glove Award after being named a finalist for the second year in a row. He was one of three Diamondbacks to win a Gold Glove this year, the Republic reported, and Arizona Sports noted he is also a finalist for a 2026 Silver Slugger Award. He credited outfield coach Dave McKay and the extra pregame work they did together twice a series.

For Phoenix fans, the news reads as a short delay, not a lost winter. Their right fielder plans to swing in December, work on his back in the weight room, and report in February.