The Arizona Diamondbacks not only lost their sixteen game in a row Saturday night, they lost one of their better hitters as well:

In another blow to a club that already owns the worst record in the majors, catcher Carson Kelly was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured his right wrist on Saturday night at Chase Field.

AZCentral.com

Kelly’s career is tough to pin down at this point. He’s playing in his sixth season in the majors having come up with the Cardinals at seasonal age 21. He hit poorly in part time duty his first three seasons, but blossomed with the trade to the Diamondbacks in 2019, posting a good .245/.348/.478 slash line. After a back sliding a bit in 2020, he returned to his 2019 form this year with a .260/.385/.460 line. Taking his career as a whole, he’s a catcher who gets on base, always a valuable commodity.

Something like this always reminds me of the play King Lear. Shakespeare pens a story where things start to go poorly for the king, and just when you believe things can’t get any worse, they get worse. Note these recent events for the Diamondbacks:

• They continually fail on the road, as the offense doesn’t perform.
• At the behest of the manager, they fire the hitting coaches and hire new ones.
• They continue to lose on the road, setting a record for consecutive road losses.
• Their GM goes on leave to care for his ailing wife.
• The losing streak extends to their home games as well.
• One of their best hitters goes on the disabled list. Due to his defensive position, his offense will be tough to replace.

At this point, I can’t see manager Torey Lovullo lasting much longer. Kings meet a untimely demise in most of these tragedies.