SAN DIEGO, CA – SEPTEMBER 25: A.J. Pollock #11 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a grand slam during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park September 25, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

The Arizona Diamondbacks shocked the baseball world with an all-in offseason that included signing superstar pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million in free agency. They have been a sexy pick to win the NL West and contend for a World Series.

Well, it’s going to be much more difficult for the Diamondbacks to accomplish those things after the news they got on Friday night in a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals.

Star centerfielder A.J. Pollock fractured his right elbow on a head-first slide, and needs surgery:

Just terrible news for Arizona, three days ahead of their Opening Day.

A lot of baseball fans may not be very familiar with A.J. Pollock yet, but this is how good he is: In 2015, Pollock finished eighth among MLB position players in Fangraphs‘ WAR (wins above replacement).

aj pollock fangraphs

That’s basically saying that only Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Manny Machado, and Yoenis Cespedes were more valuable position players than Pollock was in 2015.  That’s ahead of stars like Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Kris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo, just to name a few.

Pollock showed off his terrific all-around game in 2015, hitting for 20 homers, getting on base at a .367 clip, stealing 39 bases (third in the majors), and winning the Gold Glove at a premium position in center field.  How do the Diamondbacks find a way to try to make up for all of that value lost on both sides of the game? Who knows.

The 28-year-old had been dealing with soreness in that same elbow this spring, and a head-first slide on Friday night apparently made things a lot worse:

The Diamonbacks don’t yet have an estimate for when Pollock could potentially return:

We can assume it’s going to be multiple months, at least, especially when you factor in the injury is on his throwing elbow. It will be interesting to see if the Diamondbacks can hang around in the NL West while Pollock is out, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants also expected to be two of the better teams in the National League.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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