Just a year removed from a World Series run, the Arizona Diamondbacks fell way short of expectations in 2024.
Despite an upped payroll and added talent, the D-backs watched their postseason dreams end on the final day of the regular season.
But after a busy offseason, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden has the D-backs as one of six bounce-back teams and wouldn’t be surprised if they secure a Wild Card berth in 2025.
That’ll happen when you sign arguably the top free agent pitcher this offseason to pair with an already strong rotation.
The Diamondbacks’ front office responded (to last year) by putting together a strong offseason, headlined by the signing of Corbin Burnes … to a six-year, $210 million contract. That move gives Arizona a strong, deep group of starters with Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery.
How the D-backs navigated the departure of first baseman Christian Walker, who headed to Houston this offseason after posting 26 home runs and 84 RBIs last year, was also a positive in Bowden’s eyes.
Despite losing Walker to the Astros, the D-backs quickly turned their attention to Josh Naylor to fill the void left behind by Walker.
GM Mike Hazen did a great job of pivoting to land Josh Naylor in a trade with the Guardians. Naylor hit 31 home runs last season and was a key cog in helping Cleveland make it to the ALCS.
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Aside from a couple of new faces, Bowden also pinpointed two returning players he’s watching, beginning with outfielder Corbin Carroll.
After a slow start out of the gates the first two months, Carroll turned things around as the year progressed, highlighted by a stellar stretch in the month of June that included a 1.042 OPS to go along with 11 homers, 24 RBIs and 10 walks.
Corbin Carroll had a difficult sophomore year but still hit 22 home runs and stole 35 bases despite his .231 average. I expect him to be back in the NL MVP conversation this year, helping to spark an offense that led the majors in runs last season.
Then there’s Jordan Lawlar, who Bowden believes could make an impact as a difference maker in the second half of the season.
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The big thing to watch for Lawlar is his health after an injury-riddled 2024 that included a torn ligament in his thumb suffered at the end of spring training and a strained left hamstring in Triple-A ball.
While Bowden mentioned Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suarez as two players blocking Lawlar from playing time, GM Mike Hazen told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta last week that health, not depth was keeping Lawlar off the roster.
“I think the history over the last year or so he was hurt for the majority of last year,” Hazen said. “Obviously, he came up in 2023 and did a really good job for us at the end of the season and nothing has changed with regards to Jordan Lawlar.
“When Jordan Lawlar is ready to be on this team, Jordan Lawlar’s gonna be on this team.”
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