While the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled this season, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has certainly been one of the team’s brightest spots. Unfortunately, according to a tweet from the team’s official Twitter account, he’ll be out of commission for a while due to a fractured left hand:
Goldschmidt suffered the injury during Friday’s 9-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, as pitcher Ernesto Frieri hit the All-Star first baseman in the hand with a 93-mph fastball in the ninth inning.
After toughing it out through the remainder of the game, Goldschmidt spoke about the incident during a press conference, via Adam Lichtenstein of MLB.com:
I’ve never had any broken bones or fractures or anything like that. It felt OK, but obviously there’s still some pain because it hit it pretty good. I don’t know what it would feel like if it was or wasn’t anything wrong with it. …
… It’s part of the game, getting hit, so I’m going to stay positive and think it’ll be OK. I guess we’ll find out, hopefully tomorrow. But it’s jut part of the game. This stuff happens, and hopefully it’s not broken.
Well, the results weren’t exactly comforting, as he’ll now begin a stint on the disabled list while he recovers.
Jack Magruder of Fox Sports Arizona weighed in on what the injury means for the Diamondbacks:
Through 109 games played this season, Goldschmidt is batting .300 while accumulating 122 hits, 39 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs and 69 RBI. That kind of production will be difficult to replace.
Alfredo Marte will attempt to fill some big shoes; however, he got off to a glowing start earlier this season against the Philadelphia Phillies, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com:
We’ll see if he can recapture that magic in Goldschmidt’s stead.
With the Diamondbacks currently 14 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, don’t expect to see Goldschmidt rushed back to action, as the team will want to ensure he’s able to make a full recovery.
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