The Arizona Diamondbacks, like most teams in Major League Baseball, entered the 2026 offseason with serious needs to address after an 80-82 campaign.
Despite not opening up the wallet quite as much as the last two seasons, the Diamondbacks still made moves to shake up the roster over the course of two months.
However, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale barely gave the Diamondbacks a passing grade with a C- in his National League offseason grades.
The Diamondbacks were able to pull off a couple of moves in their hopes of getting back to the playoffs, but they still have holes. The D-backs resigned Merrill Kelly to a one-year, $20 million contract after trading him to the Texas Rangers in July. They acquired former Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado to replace Eugenio Suarez. They took a flier on starter Michael Soroka. And they re-signed backup catcher James McCann.
Still, they have yet to address their bullpen. Their best two closing options are A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, but each are recovering from elbow surgeries. Puk could return in mid-season while Martinez is expected to be out until late season. They will rely on Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson for the time-being.
As a C- would suggest, the Diamondbacks did manage to achieve some of their offseason goals. Signing Soroka and bringing back Kelly brings needed depth to a starting rotation that will be without Corbin Burnes until July.
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Re-signing Zac Gallen is another possible option the team continues to entertain, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Arizona also chose to roll the dice on acquiring Nolan Arenado, potentially finding a suitable replacement for Eugenio Suarez at third base and filling a dire hole in the infield.
On the other hand, areas like the bullpen and outfield still have lingering questions surrounding them.
Coming off a season with 4.82 ERA out of the bullpen, the Diamondbacks will be relying on low-risk, short-term additions to hold things down while Puk and Martinez continue to recover. Taylor Clarke returns to the club on to a one-year deal while other arms like Shawn Dubin, Jonathan Loáisiga, and most recently Derek Law, come in on minor league contracts.
The outfield will go the opposite route by focusing on having young pieces gain experience. Trading Jake McCarthy to the Rockies and the uncertainty around Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s return from a torn ACL opens up the left field job heading into spring training. Outfielder Jorge Barrosa, infielders Blaze Alexander and Jordan Lawlar, and even top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt could be in the mix for the role.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/paiXdmz
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