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Diamondbacks manage disappointment, what ifs with postseason omission

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PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks players gathered in front of the TVs in the clubhouse, cheering on a New York Mets team that clinched a playoff spot an hour earlier to have enough moxie to upset an Atlanta Braves squad in need of one more win.

The vibes shifted from optimism to somber as the predictable outcome occurred, with the Braves holding off the Mets to set up dual celebrations while the Diamondbacks had to stew in what ifs as their season unceremoniously closed. Teams need help to get into the postseason all the time, but usually everyone plays at the same time on the final day of the schedule. Watching the end on TV was an emotional experience.

Outfielder Corbin Carroll described the final moments of their playoff hopes as painful to watch.

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Arizona won 89 games in 2024 — the same number as New York and Atlanta — to continue their year-over-year improvement since the 110-loss disaster in 2021. The Diamondbacks won 74 games in 2022, 84 last year to make the postseason and yet jumping another five was not good enough.

“To come from 84 last year and get 89 this year I think was a big step,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “Our number one goal was to make the playoffs. It stinks, it’s disappointing.”

“It’s hard to be mad at an 89-win season, especially the trajectory we’ve been on since 2021,” ace pitcher Zac Gallen said. “I kind of knew in my head, going into the last three weeks, 90 wins was going to be what we needed. … You can’t really take anything for granted. That’s kind of the bummer part of it is that you think most years 89 wins get to the playoffs but the National League was strong this year.”

Gallen, who was preparing to start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee on Tuesday, was playing catch and watching the game on the big screen at Chase Field when Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna singled to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.

With inclement weather from an oncoming hurricane, the Mets-Braves series last week was postponed. Major League Baseball decided to play a doubleheader after the season ended, which was an awkward spot for the D-backs. Arizona needed a sweep, which was going to be unlikely given the nature of the clinch scenario. The plane to Milwaukee was on the runway, and instead the players spent their Monday evening giving hugs and packing up to go home.

“It cuts deep, like I told you guys last year at this very podium after we lost Game 5 of the World Series,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got to continue learning and growing. We can’t sit still. We’re gonna have to figure this out, figure out a way to continue playing until we win the last game and we’re pouring champagne on one another. That’s our goal every single year.”

The Diamondbacks are the first MLB team to win 89 games and miss the postseason since the field expanded to 12 teams back in 2022.

They did a lot right to get to that point as arguably the best team in baseball for a significant portion of the year. From July 3 to Aug. 25, the team went 34-12, nearly a 120-win pace, that vaulted them seven games ahead of New York.

Despite a parade of injuries to core players, the D-backs had a lot going for them, most notably an offense that dominated throughout much of the second half and kept every game within reach, regardless of score. Remember them trailing 6-0 to the Washington Nationals and scoring five runs in the ninth inning for a walk-off win? How about their six-spot in the ninth inning to stun the Kansas City Royals?

And yet, the games that slipped away, especially over the last 10 days, will disturb Lovullo and several players entering the offseason, namely the 8-0 blown lead in Milwaukee right before the final week of the season.

Gallen said he has learned not to dwell, but the most disappointing aspect of this situation is the D-backs had control of their own destiny and failed to execute in big games. After the Milwaukee collapse and before their season-finale win over San Diego, the Diamondbacks stumbled through a 1-4 stretch in which they were outscored 29-14 by the Giants and Padres.

“I think frustrated is a good word, disappointed, just kind of all over the map,” starter Merrill Kelly said. “I think frustrated just because we controlled our own destiny for a little while there, and I think we kind of let it slip out of our fingers. Obviously, that last game in Milwaukee comes to mind, a couple games against the Rockies, couple games against the Giants. It just sucks, sitting here today knowing that if we would have just squeaked out one more game that we wouldn’t be in this position.”

“For any baseball team, for any baseball season, you look back and there’s many games that could go in your favor and push that win total to one more and you’re right in the dance,” Carroll said. “I think that’s maybe not the most helpful or healthy way to look at it, but that’s real, and that’s there and just the bigger picture is taking this year and learning from it, and being able to come out next year and get the job done.”

First baseman Christian Walker said he believes this team could have done something special again if they earned the chance, but a tough end of the season was not good enough this time.

“You could always look back and pick out games, pick out moments. I know I could have been better throughout the whole year, I think everybody’s feeling something to that extent,” Walker said. “It’s not about regrets or anything like that. It’s just wishing to have more time with my teammates.”

That last note from Walker resonates further given his upcoming free agency, which will be one of the most significant moving parts of the offseason.

The focus will turn to what comes next much sooner than anyone in the room expected.