The D-backs followed up their 2023 World Series appearance with a narrow playoff miss and responded by making the biggest free agent signing in franchise history. Now brandishing one of the best one-two starting pitching punches in the sport, they'll look to ride a powerhouse rotation back into October baseball.
Major League Signings
- Corbin Burnes, RHP: Six years, $210MM (opt-out after 2026 season)
- Randal Grichuk, OF: One year, $5MM (includes buyout of 2026 mutual option)
- Kendall Graveman, RHP: One year, $1.35MM (includes buyout of 2026 mutual option)
2025 spending: $46.35MM
Total spending: $216.35MM
Option Decisions
- LHP Jordan Montgomery exercised $22.5MM player option
- Team exercised $15MM option on 3B Eugenio Suarez
- DH Joc Pederson declined $14MM mutual option (received $3MM buyout)
- Team exercised $7MM option on RHP Merrill Kelly
- OF Randal Grichuk declined $6MM mutual option (received $1.75MM buyout)
- Team declined $4MM mutual option on RHP Scott McGough (received $750K buyout)
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired 1B Josh Naylor from Guardians in exchange for RHP Slade Cecconi and Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick
- Acquired INF Grae Kessinger from Astros in exchange for minor league RHP Matthew Linskey
- Claimed C Rene Pinto off waivers from the Orioles
- Claimed RHP Seth Martinez off waivers from Astros (later lost to Marlins via waivers)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Trey Mancini, Shelby Miller, Scott McGough, Brandon Bielak, Casey Kelly, Cristian Pache, Ildemaro Vargas, Aramis Garcia, Jeff Brigham, Garrett Hampson, Jose Castillo, Josh Winder, John Curtiss
Extensions
- Geraldo Perdomo, SS: Four years, $45MM (plus 2030 club option)
Notable Losses
Arizona's playoff hopes in the 2024 season stayed alive until the very end, but they ultimately watched from home after missing the postseason by the literal narrowest margin possible. It was a bitter pill for the club and its fans to swallow -- particularly since the offseason promised considerable turnover. Star first baseman Christian Walker hit free agency, as did slugger Joc Pederson on the heels of what was arguably a career-best season. Closer Paul Sewald and key role players like Randal Grichuk and Kevin Newman also returned to the open market.
That all left plenty of work to be done, and not a ton of payroll space to make it happen -- or so it seemed initially, anyhow. General manager Mike Hazen publicly stated in November that he anticipated a payroll in the same range as 2024's $173MM figure. With Jordan Montgomery exercising a $22.5MM player option on the heels of a down year, the D-backs lost plenty of flexibility. There was still a decent amount of room, but they ostensibly needed to replace their first baseman, designated hitter, closer and multiple bench pieces.
As he set those payroll expectations, Hazen also made clear that bolstering the back end of his bullpen was a key priority. For the first third or even half of the offseason, the general expectation was that Arizona would seek high-end bullpen help and perhaps a more affordable replacement for Walker, who seemed destined for multiple years with an average annual value in the $20MM range.
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I see Dodgers, Phillies and Atlanta as locks. Two divsion winners and a wild card.
That leaves Padres, Snakes, the Brewers-Cubs runner up, and Mets fighting for two wild card spots. I see these teams as all very, very close maybe 84 win teams. If Burnes does not regress, Snakes have a good chance, but I think this will be a tougher home park for him.
Why would you consider Atlanta a lock when the Mets had to throw the last game of the season for them to make it last year? They lost starting pitching and relief and still have major injury concerns and didn’t add much.
Adding a healthy Acuna, Riley and Albies to your offense makes Atlanta a very improved team even losing Fried.
Tell us about the roster depth in Atlanta.
Hopefully, someone can help me out, but I think Chase Field plays pretty neutral. I would also guess Chase is a better park for pitchers than Camden Yards. Can anyone provide actual numbers and a good source for park dynamics as I don’t know one.
According to Statcast, on a rolling three years, both Chase Field and Camden Yards play pretty neutral at 101 and 99, respectively.
Angels
Good post. I think if Chase as the 3rd best NL hitters park following Colorado and Cincinnati.
Honestly, I don’t know Camden well enough to have an opinion.
I still think of Dodger stadium as a pitcher’s park even though many lists describe it as in the middle.
I think of San Francisco and Miami as pitchers’ parks.
Milwaukee is also a hitter’s park and Burnes did well there.
It is a slightly hitters ballpark. Baseball servant has a rankings for hitters an pitchers by ballpark ranking.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/statcast-park-f…
I will be surprised if Montgomery doesn’t return to his norms for a bounce back year. Arizona is good with starters. The offense is where they need some young players to step up.
They had the best offense in baseball last year with Corbin Carroll having a horrific first half.
They also lost two key pieces of that offensive. I was thinking of Carroll when I replied. LAD and San Diego will be tough again.
Replaced Walker with Naylor so not a huge loss.
The loss will be noticeable on defense.
Maybe. Naylor keeps getting better. Walker getting older. He’s not Walker but still good.
I don’t like the lineup. Feels one bat short of being able to separate themselves from the pack in terms of making the playoffs (they won’t catch LA obviously).
I thought Bregman on a short term deal like he has in BOS was a good fit here. Pushes Suarez and Naylor into a 1B/DH timeshare and lengthens the lineup.
Lost Pederson and didn’t replace him so definitely 1 bat short.
Jordan Lawlar will be the X factor. No need for Bregman.
Lawlar hasn’t done anything.
No one has until they get the chance. He looks really good to me.
I like him too, and I agree. But if your team has ambitions like AZ does, then they need to add starpower as often as possible.
My idea was that they would do the following:
– Sign Bregman
– Move Suarez into 1B/DH rotation with Naylor
– Have Lawlar compete with Perdomo for the SS job
I am not that impressed by Perdomo and wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a utility player in the next couple of years of his extension. He’s basically a long term insurance policy at SS who – so far – is almost an average hitter and a quality (but not elite) defender. No reason why a player of Lawlar’s pedigree and potential shouldn’t be able to displace him. The question then is not Bregman vs. Lawlar, but rather Perdomo vs. Bregman in total terms. The team is better with what I laid out.
I still think the Diamondbacks have a decent chance of winning it all this year. They will give the Dodgers a bigger run then most people think.
Pitching Strength:
The addition of Corbin Burnes significantly strengthens the rotation. However, there are still some bullpen questions. This area would likely receive a B+ to A- grade.
Offensive Consistency:
The trade for Josh Naylor adds a strong offensive presence, but the loss of Christian Walker creates a change. The overall offensive consistency will have to be proven during the season. This area would likely receive a B grade.
Defensive Reliability:
The Diamondbacks have a solid defensive core. This area would receive a B+ grade.
Roster Depth:
The team has made moves to increase roster depth, with additions of utility players. This area would receive a B grade.
Overall Evaluation:
The Diamondbacks’ offseason was focused on maintaining and building upon their recent success. Overall, they would likely receive a grade in the B range.
A realistic win projection for the Diamondbacks would be in the 83-90 win range.
Good post. I would add that they lost Pederson.
The Dbacks riding a pair of aces all the way to a World Series title?
Nah, it’ll never work.
A Big Unit and a bloody sock, yup, that’ll do it.
C
Love letting Walker go and getting Naylor for nothing.
Could have spent 200m better than Burnes.
Amazing no other team wanted Grichuk. Great value there.
Where would you have spent the Burnes money? 200M makes it seem like a ton, but in 2025, the budget was pretty stretched already. In that scenario, I lean toward grabbing the single best option instead of spreading it around for lesser players and hoping they overachieve.
Personally I would’ve consider a closer, but none were available that make a genuine difference. Relying on Puk/Martinez/Ginkel/Jameson seems like a solid option. Still have Mantiply and Thompson and Graveman as well. None of whom should be closing, but can in a short window of injury depth issues.
DH is another area I see since Joc left. But Pavin may actually be breaking out. To say nothing of potentially moving Suarez or Marte to mostly DH when Lawlar pushes the issue, which is looking earlier and earlier this Spring thankfully.
As a D’Backs fan, In Hazen We Trust. I (biasedly) voted for an “A” almost exlclusively on not trading a pivotal prospect for some knee-jerk name as is usually the case with “mid-market” teams…
Snell Fried. Better yet one of the shorter term 15 to 25 million guys. Even better pocket it and wait for a better deal on a bat in future years or team friendly extension.
Ah. Ok. I prefer Burnes to Snell easily. Fried I wouldn’t have minded but I also don’t see a huge difference there, so potato tomato. My issue with Snell is that he is flashy but unreliable. LAD can afford to seek that whereas Arizona can’t.
As for the AAV side, ok. But until Burnes approached Arizona, there was 0 inclination to outspend the 2024 budget. It’s not like Hazen signs Fried for $25M and then has enough left over to squeeze in Joc or Walker. It was a one time expenditure as far as I can tell.
I am all for extensions. It appears the team is as well. At this point I think they are waiting to see something special they like in certain players (Pfaadt/Ryne/Lawlar) and the others have probably rebuffed their attempts (Gallen). Moreno is the wild card I’d like to see extended but there’s a very valid argument that he will drop off as he hits free agency just given historic catcher trends. I could believe that’s staying their hand too. Also wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t want Moreno if/when the ABS system is implemented for the regular season – this would assume a better bat can catch runners similarly enough to Gabi though and I’m not sure ADC will be that guy.
I agree with Spencer. Snell was the perfect signing for the Dodgers with five injury prone aces and five more decent guys waiting in the wings. Snell is less of a fit for a team that needs 30 starts and 180 innings.
I would have put the money in my pocket. Some into player development. Wait for the right guy to spend it on.
Pitch framing will be just as important unless they allow unlimited challenges or umpires won’t call pitches. Unions and purist I would guess it will be a challenge system with limitations.
Who would you be waiting on as “the right guy?” Burnes is the best pitcher to hit the market in a while and for a while. He’s reliable, able to get hitters out many ways and has award bonafides in his pocket already. For a team with an excellent pipeline for hitters and is basically non-existent for pitchers, I can’t think of a better option honestly.
They’ve been sinking money into player development since Hazen took over. It started to reap benefit with Carroll. Final step is pitching and they made a major revamp with Stromm’s help in 2024 which appears to be continuing. In theory, the Burnes contract covers the lapse until that also starts paying dividends. But that remains to be seen and personally I remain highly skeptical at this point.
Framing will become less useful if those pitches are constantly being overturned under review, which is possible, arguably even likely. I think Moreno is young and ready to breakout at the plate, so hopefully he, Lawlar and a young arm are the next extensions for the team.