Christian Walker Discusses Oblique Injury, Josh Bell Trade and More

The D-backs' first baseman spoke to reporters following his exit from last night's game and a recent trade for a first baseman.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (53) tosses the ball to first after fielding a sharp ground ball on July 27, 2024 at Chase Field in Phoenix. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost their premiere first baseman in Monday night's contest, as Christian Walker exited early with an oblique strain. Arizona went on to win the game in thrilling walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Walker has been placed on the 10-day IL, and the D-backs have made both a corresponding move, and a trade for Marlins first baseman Josh Bell.

Today, Walker caught up with the media to discuss his injury, recovery timeline, and comparison to a previous oblique injury suffered in 2021.

What'd they tell you about the MRI results?

"Low-grade oblique strain. Good news for what it is. Pretty mild, shouldn't be too long. Feeling fortunate that it was less than what it felt like, so, all things considered, it's alright."

Take us through that, when you hurt it, how did you hurt it?

"Hard to pinpoint. It wasn't one swing or one move, it was just over a couple of hours, kind of warming up for the game. And then there was a play in the first where I kind of reached funny in the hole. And then the first at-bat I check-swung on a curveball and that kind of got my attention."

"And then the play, I guess it was the second inning in foul territory, with the jump throw... I'll play through most things, but something was just not letting me trust it, and I was being very aware of it in the game. When it's distracting like that, and I can't focus on the game and compartmentalize it, something tells me that I've got to do something about it.

"I brought it to [athletic trainer Max Esposito]'s attention, and we did some testing and decided it was smart to try to minimize the damage."

So your first instinct was just "can I get through this?" a little bit?

"Yeah, it was just, make it through the game, get some treatment after the game, take a day if I need it. I think I was just trying to be helpful in the moment, waking up today it was much more sore.

But still, all things considered, it could've been way worse, and hopefully it's only a few weeks."

How does it compare to the one from a few years ago?

"Not as bad, not as bad. Definitely less. Different side, but similar, internal oblique, front side for me. It's not rotating through, it's hitting the brakes on the front side. So a slightly different version than usual front sides, but another positive there, another silver lining."

Before the game it was just feeling tight? Just different than usual?

"Yeah, just had a hard time getting loose. Nothing was on my radar about having to say something or come out, and then as I got into game intensity and made some real game moves and reactions, just something felt different.

"My initial thought wasn't 'I need to come out of this game,' it was just 'let me bring it to Max's attention and let's have a conversation about it,' and good thing he made a decision to come out."

You felt it before you went out and actually played in the game?

"I felt tightness. I wouldn't even say it was pain at that point, just felt like I couldn't get loose."

You think it's just wear and tear?

"Honestly, I think it's just one of those things, we do so much rotating as a righty. Everything I do is rotating left, hitting, throwing. Between those two things, I could take 250 rotations a day. Honestly, up until this point, this is the best my body has felt in my career at this point in the year.

"Strength-wise, agility-wise, recovery-wise, I felt like I was really thriving. I'm just chalking it up to some unfortunate luck."

How long before you can get back to baseball activities?

"Hard to say day one, day two. I think for me it's going to be, wait a week, probably little to no rotating. Let it calm down, let the inflammation get out of there a little bit, and then reassess.

"I've heard three weeks-ish. Like I said, hard to tell, hard to pinpoint."

Three weeks to start baseball activity or to get back into gameplay?

"No, I think to be back, yeah, overall. Definitely could be worse. When I say feeling fortunate that's what I mean, having been through something similar to this once, was a lot longer process. I think if it all goes as planned here, just maybe a few weeks."

The good news is that you'll be back, it sounds like, with a chunk before hopefully the postseason?

"Yeah, absolutely. That's almost weighing on me more than the injury is, you feel like you're letting your teammates down to some extent. I want to be out there in the fight with them. There's nothing we could have done differently to avoid it."

"Regret's not the word... guilt isn't the word, but it's somewhere where you want to be out there, you know how important these games are. But there's no doubt that this team will be fine."

In 2021... when you came back [from an oblique injury], I think you re-injured it at a certain point, is that correct, you had two different stints?

"I think I just pushed it there late. It was feeling good, and most reps were good, but I think I just got excited. I'd never really dealt with IL time in season, it was a new headspace for me, and all my focus was just get back on the field, and I think I just pulled the trigger a little soon there."

"Like I said, [this one is] much less, and should be a different situation."

That was also a learning experience for you, about how to manage this I'm sure?

"Yeah, very much. We went and got pictures again that year, and it wasn't a re-injury, it was just 'let's just give it another 10 days to make sure we're in the clear here."

What are your thoughts when you hear about [general manager Mike Hazen] making the trade for Josh Bell?

"Excited, that's a great addition. It's smart, he's a serious weapon, having the matchups on his side with being able to pinch-hit.

"Love it, I think it's a great move."

Were you able to watch much of the comeback after coming out of the game?

"Yeah, I was in the training room, but we had it on. That was exciting. When I say that I'm confident that the team will be fine, that's the stuff that comes to mind, it's going to be fun to watch.

"Everybody was screaming, that was a blast."