The Diamondbacks adopted up their shocking pennant run with an lively offseason. They’re nonetheless lengthy pictures to problem the Dodgers within the NL West, however they go into 2024 with clear expectations of a second consecutive playoff berth.
Main League Signings
2024 spending: $35MTotal spending: $136.5M
Choice Choices
Trades and Claims
Notable Minor League Signings
Logan Allen, Albert Almora, Elvis Andrus, Tucker Barnhart, Humberto Castellanos, José Castillo, Dakota Chalmers, Dylan File, Kyle Garlick, Ronaldo Hernández, Brandon Hughes, Ricky Karcher, Kevin Newman
Extensions
Notable Losses
The Diamondbacks got here up slightly wanting the second championship in franchise historical past. After clinching the Nationwide League’s final playoff spot on the season’s last weekend, they knocked off the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies en path to the Fall Basic. The Rangers stopped that run with a five-game triumph within the World Sequence, but the Snakes went into the offseason in search of to construct on that end.
Arizona’s first order of enterprise was to reward their longtime supervisor. Inside the first few days of the offseason, the Snakes signed Torey Lovullo to an extension operating by means of 2026. Now the third-longest tenured supervisor within the NL, Lovullo appeared as if he may be on the recent seat as just lately as 2022. The entrance workplace caught by him by means of three straight dropping seasons in 2020-22 and was rewarded for that persistence final yr.
As soon as Lovullo’s contract was settled, GM Mike Hazen and his workers strengthened the roster. It wasn’t misplaced on the entrance workplace that their common season efficiency — probably a greater predictor of the long run than their small-sample postseason run — was high-quality. Arizona went 84-78 and was outscored by 15 runs. They’d clear areas to deal with in the course of the rotation and at third base. The approaching free company of left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was one other query.
Third base was the primary domino to fall. Whereas they have been linked to free brokers Jeimer Candelario and Justin Turner inside the offseason’s first few weeks, they turned to the commerce market. Arizona dealt hard-throwing reliever Carlos Vargas and third catcher Seby Zavala to the Mariners for Eugenio Suárez. Whereas Vargas is an attention-grabbing developmental flier, the largest attraction for Seattle was offloading the $13M that Suárez is owed this yr — taking the type of an $11M wage and a $2M buyout on a $15M membership choice for 2025.
Arizona purchased a declining asset to some extent. After topping 30 homers in each 2021 and ’22, Suárez hit 22 lengthy balls a season in the past. He led the American League in strikeouts for a second consecutive yr, punching out 214 instances. His .232/.323/.391 batting line was virtually precisely league common after accounting for the acute pitcher-friendly nature of Seattle’s T-Cell Park. It was his third common or worse offensive exhibiting up to now 4 years.
Even when Suárez is trending downward as he nears his thirty third birthday, he’s an improve over utility sorts like Emmanuel Rivera and Jace Peterson. Shifting to Chase Subject ought to supply a lift to his energy manufacturing. He attracts loads of walks and is a succesful defensive infielder. There’ll be loads of strikeouts, however that’s a trade-off Arizona was keen to just accept so as to add a righty energy bat to a lineup constructed largely round athletic contact hitters.
They adopted up with their massive strike for rotation assist on the Winter Conferences. The D-Backs landed Eduardo Rodríguez on a four-year, $80M pact. It’s the franchise’s greatest free agent funding for the reason that ill-fated Madison Bumgarner deal from 2019. Rodríguez’s contract typically aligns with expectations and provides a wanted mid-rotation arm.
The southpaw turned in a career-low 3.30 ERA with a strong strikeout and stroll marks in 26 begins for the Tigers final yr. He’s aware of Hazen and Lovullo from their time with the Pink Sox, addressing any considerations they may have had after Rodríguez missed a bit of 2022 attending to a private matter and vetoed a deadline deal to the Dodgers final summer time. He pairs with Merrill Kelly as mid-rotation arms behind ace Zac Gallen. That knocks Brandon Pfaadt into the fourth starter position that had been so problematic final yr, each within the common season and into October.
One can nonetheless quibble with the beginning pitching depth, however the entrance workplace felt the larger precedence after touchdown Rodríguez was constructing out the lineup. They caught with Gurriel in left area, bringing him again on a three-year, $42M assure that permits him to choose out after the second season. Retaining Gurriel and including Suárez addressed their need for right-handed bats however nonetheless hadn’t glad the objective of bringing in a full-time designated hitter.
For that, they turned to lefty-swinging Joc Pederson. The D-Backs introduced in Pederson on a one-year, $12.5M deal. He’s coming off an unspectacular .235/.348/.416 exhibiting for the Giants. Arizona is betting on Pederson to recapture one thing nearer to his glorious 2022 kind. He raked at a .274/.353/.521 clip with San Francisco two seasons in the past.
Pederson’s exhausting contact charge stays elite and he posted higher strikeout and stroll numbers final yr than in ’22. He’s a restricted participant — he needs to be shielded from lefty pitching and is finest served as a DH solely — however he ought to hit within the center third of the lineup when opponents begin a right-hander.
Suárez, Rodríguez, Gurriel and Pederson are the 4 massive offseason acquisitions (or retentions, in Gurriel’s case). The Snakes introduced in a few veterans to deepen the bench. They assured Randal Grichuk $2M, indicating he’ll function a right-handed hitting depth outfielder and maybe a complement to Pederson within the DH slot. Grichuk clobbered lefties in 2023 and has a robust observe document towards them, making him a wise slot in that position. Two-time Gold Glove winner Tucker Barnhart inked a minor league pact. He has a very good likelihood to surpass José Herrera because the backup to franchise catcher Gabriel Moreno.
The one different notable transaction was a younger participant swap with the White Sox. Arizona dealt lefty-hitting outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Chicago for pitching prospect Cristian Mena. The D-backs have subtracted a few fringe outfielders by way of commerce — they included Dominic Canzone as a part of the Paul Sewald return final summer time, reflecting their depth on the grass.
Gurriel is locked into left area. Defending Rookie of the Yr Corbin Carroll will deal with the opposite nook. Defensive stalwart Alek Thomas will man heart area. Jake McCarthy continues to be readily available as a depth choice who can play all three outfield spots. Grichuk also can play some heart area, though Arizona’s assortment of proficient younger defenders means he’s more likely to spend most of his time in a nook or at DH.
Fletcher has two choices remaining, so the Snakes may have saved him in Triple-A Reno. Nevertheless, he’s already 26 and wasn’t going to have a transparent path to on a regular basis taking part in time at Chase Subject. It made extra sense to flip to the White Sox, the place he entered camp with a leg up on the beginning proper area job. That allowed the D-backs to bolster their rotation depth, a relatively weak level for Arizona.
Mena, 21, has but to make his MLB debut. He’s on the 40-man roster and briefly reached Triple-A final season. The 6-foot-2 righty spent a lot of the yr in Double-A, the place he turned in a 4.66 ERA with a powerful 27.9% strikeout charge however an 11.3% stroll share. He’s nonetheless growing as a strike-thrower, however scouting reviews reward his curveball and potential for command enchancment. Mena may attain the majors in some unspecified time in the future this yr.
That’s unlikely to be on Opening Day. He’ll probably slot behind Ryne Nelson, Slade Cecconi and Tommy Henry within the battle for the fifth rotation spot. It’s not an amazing group and an damage to any of the highest 4 starters may stress the pitching workers. If the Diamondbacks are in competition on the deadline, buying rotation depth may once more be a summer time objective.
Lovullo may closely depend on the bullpen to assist cowl for among the unproven arms in the back of the beginning workers. Arizona enters 2024 with the strongest on-paper aid group it has had in years. The Sewald commerce is an enormous a part of that, though the unheralded Ryan Thompson pickup has aided them and steps ahead from Kevin Ginkel and Andrew Saalfrank.
The D-backs didn’t make a single main league acquisition to the aid group. Hazen advised early in spring coaching that they may nonetheless search for depth additions, given the volatility of aid pitching (hyperlink by way of Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports activities). Nonetheless, it was far much less of a precedence than in the previous few offseasons. Non-roster lefties Brandon Hughes and José Castillo are essentially the most important pickups to this point.
Arizona additionally inked a few minor-league contracts to bolster the infield depth. Kevin Newman and Elvis Andrus are in camp as non-roster shortstops. Lovullo has already declared
Geraldo Perdomo his starter on the place. Certainly one of Andrus or Newman ought to make the workforce as a backup.
Other than Perdomo, prospects Jordan Lawlar and Blaze Alexander are the one different shortstops on the 40-man roster. It’s higher to get Lawlar each day taking part in time within the higher minors than to make use of him sparingly off the key league bench. Alexander has but to make his MLB debut and struck out at an elevated 27.2% clip in Triple-A. Lawlar may be the primary choice if any beginning infielders endure an damage. At full well being, the D-backs will run a major group of Christian Walker, Ketel Marte, Perdomo and Suárez across the dust.
Walker, one of many sport’s extra quietly productive first basemen, is now a yr away from free company. He and Sewald are the workforce’s high leases. Each gamers are approaching their mid-30s, so the entrance workplace may not have a lot urgency to maintain both off the open market. Walker advised the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro final month that there hadn’t been a lot discuss an extension, though he indicated he was open to that dialog.
If the entrance workplace have been to think about extension targets, they may desire to safe a youthful member of the core. They efficiently inked Carroll to a $111M deal final spring, cementing the star outfielder because the face of the franchise. Moreno, who hit .284/.339/.408 in his first full massive league marketing campaign, can be the obvious goal for related overtures this spring. Arizona would presumably like to preserve Gallen round for the lengthy haul, however that’s a a lot taller process. The Cy Younger finalist is 2 years from free company and trending in direction of an enormous contract.
Whether or not or not the Diamondbacks can work out long-term offers with anybody this spring, they’ll go into the season with extra optimism than they’ve had in years. Their lively offseason has pushed their participant payroll round $144M, as calculated by RosterResource. Whereas middle-of-the-pack by league requirements, that’s the very best mark in franchise historical past.
Few folks will predict Arizona closing a 16-game hole with Los Angeles even earlier than the Dodgers’ offseason spending spree. Something wanting one other Wild Card berth would rely as a disappointment, although. The Diamondbacks raised expectations in October. Including Rodríguez, Suárez, and Pederson solely bolsters that.
