Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll receives MVP projection with huge Shohei Ohtani problem

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 32-27 and are having a good 2026 season so far. Their offense has been solid, and even their pitching staff, despite Zac Gallen's struggles, has looked fine.

But, there's just one problem: the Los Angeles Dodgers are in their division, making an ascent to being the NL West champions very difficult. A similar issue is occurring to one individual D-Backs player as well.

Zack Meisel of The Athletic named Corbin Carroll for the NL MVP as the Diamondbacks' top awards candidate." However, there's just one problem: Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers will make it near impossible to win the award.

Corbin Carroll has one Shohei Ohtani problem blocking MVP chance

"Carroll ranks in the top 10 in the NL in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, wRC+, and if he could just pitch at a Cy Young level, he'd have a great shot at NL MVP," Meisel writes.

For as good as Carroll has been this season, with 2.6 bWAR, a .286 average, seven homers, 14 doubles, eight triples, 28 RBIs, seven steals, 30 walks, and a .913 OPS, his odds for MVP are incredibly slim.

As long as Ohtani is healthy, he's going to likely be crowned MVP. He's putting together a Cy Young caliber season from the mound, and is also a plus-hitter.

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While he doesn't play defense, the elite pitching from Ohtani, combined with his strong offensive numbers, makes Carroll winning the NL MVP incredibly unlikely.

Even though Meisel named Carroll for the NL MVP award as the top candidate for the D-Backs roster this season, it's an incredibly unlikely scenario for Carroll and the Diamondbacks.

Carroll would need for Ohtani to either regress significantly or get hurt to even have a chance at the MVP award this season. He's been great, and should be a top-five MVP distributor if he can keep this up. But winning the award is a stretch.

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