PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks put a deeper, more talented team on the field that won five more games than a year ago, and yet the 2024 season is considered a disappointment due to the failure to lock up a postseason spot after a World Series run in 2023.
The club has entered an in-between period, before it can sign free agents or conduct trades, when evaluating 2024 meets planning for 2025 and beyond.
“We wanted to build something that was sustainable,” manager Torey Lovullo said at exit interviews this week. “We weren’t just lucky one year and ride it out for three or four more. Our expectation, our standard here is every single year we’re going to compete at a very high level, and we’re going to be looking at something like we did last year, that is my mindset. It’s every player’s mindset.”
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In many years, 89 wins would be enough to reach the next step, and the D-backs overcame so many injuries to put themselves in a position to clinch. The pitching production, though, never reached the promise of this roster, which led to the dismissal of well-respected pitching coach Brent Strom.
Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo the offense may have tightened up down the stretch, and an 8-0 blown lead to Milwaukee entering the final week of the season also rattled the club.
“I think there were positives from this year, but most players operate from the mindset of ‘What could I have done more?’ and that’s how I feel right now,” Corbin Carroll said. “There’ll be plenty time for reflection now.”
The D-backs still have a group of exciting young players and veteran pitchers under team control, a positive starting point as they look to take another step forward to win 90s games. But they are not devoid of high-stakes decisions, most notably with free agent first baseman Christian Walker.
State of the Diamondbacks’ offense
The Diamondbacks built one of the deepest lineups in baseball 1-9, but it was rare to see it in totality. Randal Grichuk started the year with a brief IL stint, Geraldo Perdomo and Alek Thomas went down with significant injuries in the first week of the season and more injuries pulled Ketel Marte, Walker, Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. out of the batting order in the second half.
The club still managed to put up one of the most statistically impressive offensive seasons in franchise history, scoring 886 runs, second to the 1999 club and the league leader for 2024.
The league average OPS for 2024 was .711. OPS+ accounts for ballpark factors to put everyone on the same playing field with 100 as the average.
The Diamondbacks’ top nine hitters by plate appearance were all above average bats by both metrics, as were Grichuk, Josh Bell and Pavin Smith who had fewer reps in the box. The D-backs had 13 above average hitters, second to the Baltimore Orioles in MLB.
Among that group was an MVP-contending year from Marte (.932 OPS, 36 home runs), terrific production from the Grichuk-Joc Pederson DH platoon and dramatic turnarounds from Eugenio Suarez (.788 OPS 30 home runs) and Carroll (.749 OPS, 22 home runs and 35 stolen bases) in the second half.
Most of the lineup is under contract for the foreseeable future. Carroll, Perdomo, Moreno, Thomas and Adrian Del Castillo are all 25 years old or younger.
But there are decisions to make with several veterans.
Walker (.803 OPS, 26 home runs) is entering free agency, while Pederson (.903 OPS, 23 home runs) and Grichuk (.875 OPS, 12 home runs) have mutual options. Suarez has a team option for $15 million, and veteran depth assets Bell and Kevin Newman are free agents.
“I’ve gotten the sense that guys want to come back,” general manager Mike Hazen said on Tuesday. “I think the environment that Torey creates, that our clubhouse has, I think the young kids here energize some of the older players in a lot of ways. … The concept of bringing everybody back together and going forward again is a good one. I don’t know how realistic it’s going to be in its entirety.”
Walker has been Arizona’s starting first baseman since Paul Goldschmidt left after the 2018 season, growing into a clubhouse leader. He should be a valued commodity on the open market at 33 years old.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks had not gone with a defined designated hitter before 2024, and it paid off with Pederson and Grichuk. The DH spot for Arizona accounted for an .891 OPS, which ranked third in MLB. Pederson’s mutual option is for $14 million, and that figure for Grichuk is $6 million.
“We’re not just going to thrust somebody to a DH role that’s not going to be able to give the level of production those guys gave us,” Hazen said regarding the future of the position.
There is also the question of what role top prospect Jordan Lawlar, who had an injury-impacted 2024 season, can earn in 2025.
State of Diamondbacks’ pitching
Strom is done after three years leading the pitching staff. Assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson and bullpen coach Mike Fetters have also been fired after the D-backs finished the season No. 27 with a 4.62 ERA.
Much of the pitching staff on the mound remains under contract for 2025, so the club will have to determine which voice will get the most out of this group:
– Zac Gallen enters the final year before he is due a lucrative deal in free agency
– Merrill Kelly has a $7 million club option for his age 36 season
– Jordan Montgomery has a $22.5 million player option
– Eduardo Rodriguez has three more years left on his deal
– Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson are pre-arbitration
In the bullpen, Paul Sewald is a free agent and Scott McGough has a $4 million mutual option. A.J. Puk, Justin Martinez, Kevin Ginkel, Joe Mantiply and Ryan Thompson are all under team control, as are Drey Jameson, Kyle Nelson and Bryce Jarvis.
The Diamondbacks entered the 2023 postseason with three starters, and Hazen said he regretted not adding another arm at the deadline. For 2024, the D-backs had the depth, but injuries and underperformance resulted in a staff that always looked better on paper than in reality. All five starters minus Pfaadt spent time on the injured list, putting stress on the organization’s depth, as well.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my arms around that right now, I feel like this was a veteran group of starting pitchers, we had some young kids take a few steps forward, but I don’t know where it went sideways,” Hazen said. “It’s obvious, there’s no hiding where everything lines up on how we ranked in a lot of the ways that we played. Our pitching needed to be better.”
These comments were made before the reported firings of Strom, Carlson and Fetters.
Gallen was Arizona’s most successful starter when looking at the entire year with a 3.65 ERA, but he admitted to being more inconsistent than in the past (3.04 ERA between 2022-23). He will be one of the premier names in free agency entering 2026.
“I pride myself on consistency, so it was kind of a lot of ups and downs,” Gallen said. “It felt like, for the most part, down the stretch, last five or six starts I pitched pretty good. Pretty much gave us chance to win every time I was out there. So for me, very surface level it was fine, but I’m not a surface level person when it comes to my career. So I’m gonna dive deeper into seeing what could be better.”
Nelson stood tall as the breakout pitcher of the rotation and most effective starter in the second half, while Pfaadt was a workhorse whose production largely tailed off in the closing weeks — although he was excellent in the season finale.
Montgomery was the black sheep of the pitching staff with a 6.23 ERA, the highest in Major League Baseball among anyone with at least 90 innings thrown. Team owner Ken Kendrick publicly called the decision to sign him “horrible” in hindsight while taking accountability for the idea. Even so, the D-backs may have to count on him if he opts back in.
“I believe that Jordan Montgomery will have a better year next year,” Hazen said. “And I think whatever myriad of factors went into this year and it ended up the way it did, it didn’t work out. It didn’t work out, but I also think next year is going to look a lot different.”
The bullpen’s complexion changed midway through the season when Sewald was removed from the closer’s spot after an awful July and Puk stepped in as the team’s best reliever after the trade from Miami.
Martinez received the most save opportunities in the Sewald aftermath, but no one was ever named closer with the hope that Sewald would retake the position. After an overall positive output in July and August, minus Sewald’s four blown saves, the bullpen ERA in September dropped to last in MLB (6.11).
Hazen said he would surely add to the bullpen, but with so many pitchers under contract, there is time to assess and explore different options if further changes are deemed necessary.
Diamondbacks free agents
– 1B Christian Walker
– 1B Josh Bell
– INF Kevin Newman
– OF Randal Grichuk (mutual option)
– DH Joc Pederson (mutual option)
– RHP Merrill Kelly (club option)
– LHP Jordan Montgomery (player option)
– RHP Paul Sewald
– RHP Scott McGough (mutual option)
Will the Diamondbacks’ payroll go down?
The D-backs put together the highest payroll in club history just south of $173 million. They were able to use the postseason revenue to invest in the team. Despite missing the postseason, Arizona’s attendance jumped 20%.
Kendrick told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo, “This year we have substantial additional money from the regular season thank to our great fans. So are we going to be in a position to financially compete yet again next year? I think the answer is basically yes.”