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The Diamondbacks have been one of the better teams in baseball in recent years. The won the NL pennant just two years ago, and last season put together a strong 89-win campaign that just barely mi sed the playoffs due to a three-way tiebreaker with the Braves and Mets. After an offseason where the club brought in and among a handful of other additions, it wasnt hard to see the Diamondbacks serving as the main challenger to the Dodgers in the NL West, or at least as an early favorite for one of the NL Wild Card spots. Things havent worked out that way, however. The Diamondbacks entered play today with a 28-31 record that leaves them in fourth place in the NL West, 7.5 games back of the Dodgers but also behind the Padres and Giants. Even in the NL Wild Card race, Arizona is five games back, in line with the records of likely sellers in other divisions like the Nationals and Reds. While they entered the season with a 60.4% chance to make the playoffs , todays playoff odds give them just a 27.9% chance to play in the postseason this year. Those odds are a worrying sign, but theyre hardly the be-all and end-all; the Tigers (20.3%) and Mets (9.8%) both had slimmer odds at the postseason than that one year ago today and ended up not only making the playoffs but playing fairly deep into October. What separates Arizona from last years surprise contenders, however, is that they clearly appear to be on the downswing. Burnes is Jared Walsh Jersey having elbow troubles, leaving his future at the top of their rotation uncertain at best. Closer is on the 60-day injured list with an uncertain timeline*. hasnt looked like himself all season, and was having trouble staying consistent even before he gave up eight runs without recording an out in his most recent start against the Nationals. An offense with players like , , , and even all hitting incredibly well feels as though it should be a slam dunk to make the postseason, but the club just doesnt appear to have enough pitching to make a run as presently constructed without significant turnarounds from players like Gallen. An argument could be made, however, that with Marte nearing the end of his prime years and players like Gallen, Naylor, , and ticketed for free agency this winter, that the Diamondbacks would simply be best served supplementing the current roster with more pitching this summer and attempting to make a late-season run. A number of interesting arms could potentially be available this summer, ranging from mid-rotation pieces like and to relief help like and . Any of those options could help stabilize the pitching staff enough for Arizonas vaunted offense to carry the rest of the load, and thats before considering the unlikely but still feasible po sibilities that teams like the Astros and Cardinals decide to dangle and . The complication with that, however, is that Arizona is already in very uncharted waters when it comes to payroll. Efforts to trade to free up payroll space this winter were unsucce sful, and the fact that he ended up going under the knife before the season began put a stop to any hopes of moving him to make room for other players in the budget this summer. Its at least theoretically po sible ownership could be willing to green-light even more spending for a squad that suggests is already costing the club $196MM this year, but it would hardly be a surprise if managing general partner Ken Kendrick was reluctant to invest in the team further without them showing more signs of life. Young players like Carroll, , and Perdomo arent going anywhere, so its not hard to imagine the club being able to load up on talent this summer by moving players like Gallen and Suarez with an eye towards contending in 2026 and beyond. Perhaps the best news for the Diamondbacks at this point is that theres still nearly two months until the deadline, meaning they wont need to make a decision for at least a few more weeks. A late June stretch where the club enjoys nine consecutive games against the Rockies, White Sox, and Marlins could easily provide just the sort of shot in the arm Arizona needs to get right back into the thick of the Wild Card race, especially if theyre able to take series against more middle-of-the-road clubs like Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Toronto over the next two weeks. How do MLBTR readers think the Diamondbacks will ultimately handle their deadline dilemma? Will they push their chips in with the 2025 club, or dangle players like Gallen in hopes of building a stronger team for next year? Have your say in the poll below: What Will The Diamondbacks Do This Summer? Arizona will make moves that both add to and subtract from the roster. 49.61% (643votes) Arizona will be sellers at the trade deadline. 35.34% (458votes) Arizona will be buyers at the trade deadline. 15.05% (195votes) Total Votes: 1,296 *This post originally stated that Puk was done for the year. MLBTR regrets the error. Josh Sborz Jersey |
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