Calhoun has surgery on hamstring
The Diamondbacks’ Kole Calhoun underwent surgery to repair a torn hamstring on Friday, a procedure General Manager Mike Hazen said could sideline his right fielder for six to eight weeks.
The development is the latest tough blow on the injury front for the Diamondbacks, who have dealt with a series of injuries since the start of spring training. This is the second surgery Calhoun has undergone in a span of eight weeks following a procedure to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in early March.
Calhoun is joined on the injured list by center fielder Ketel Marte, first baseman Christian Walker, outfielder Tim Locastro, starting pitcher Taylor Widener and relievers Joakim Soria and Tyler Clippard.
Still, the Diamondbacks thus far have not allowed the injuries to sink their season. They entered Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies at 13-12, leaving them in fourth place but just three games out of first in the National League West.
Calhoun, who suffered
the
injury while stealing third base in the sixth inning on Tuesday night, underwent an unusual procedure for a baseball player, having a torn semitendinosus tendon removed. Hazen said his understanding of the procedure was that it would make for a quicker healing process.
Hazen said that based on his organization’s research it is a surgery that has been performed more often on NFL players. He said the estimate of six-toeight weeks is particularly rough given how unusual the procedure is for a baseball player. He wasn’t sure if that timetable included the ramp-up back to baseball activities or if additional time might be needed on the backend to work into playing shape.
The good news for the Diamondbacks is that several of their injured players are nearing returns. Soria, working his way back from a calf strain, has been pitching in games at the club’s alternate site, where Walker and Locastro could appear in games for the first time on Saturday.
All three seem like possibilities to return before or during the club’s upcoming road trip, which begins on Tuesday in Miami.
Marte, however, remains behind the others, Hazen said, though how far behind remains unclear. Marte underwent another MRI on his right hamstring earlier this week, which showed there was “still some healing needed to go,” Hazen said.
“He is out doing activity, but we want to make sure we take care of this and do it right and put him in a position of going full bore for the rest of the season,” Hazen said.
Josh Rojas replaced Calhoun on Tuesday and has started in right field three consecutive games in his absence. However, Hazen noted that the returns of Walker and Locastro will “reshape” manager Torey Lovullo’s defensive alignments; Walker, in particular, figures to be the biggest domino, as his return will push Pavin Smith to the outfield.
Short hop
The club said first-base coach Dave McKay has been at Chase Field pregame for the first two days of the Rockies series, his first time back with the team since suffering an injury in a dugout fall in mid-March. McKay has been working for short stretches with players before heading home. The Diamondbacks plan to gradually increase his workload before getting him back to coaching on the field in games.