The Diamondbacks went into 2025 with an Opening Day payroll of just under $187MM, representing yet another new high for a club that had already bumped its payroll from roughly $116.1MM in 2023 to $163.3MM in 2024. Arizona’s attempt to try and capitalize on its surprise NL pennant in 2023 hasn’t worked out, however, as the D’Backs fell short of the playoffs in 2024 and are fighting just to try and salvage a winning record this year.
These struggles led to some selling at the deadline, with such impending free agents as Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Randal Grichuk, Shelby Miller, and Jordan Montgomery all sent elsewhere. The money saved by getting those players off the books for the final two months of 2025 will impact the 2026 payroll, as team president/CEO Derrick Hall said the D’Backs will “reinvest into the product for next year. We’re going to have to because we’re still going to have so many guys on the IL. We’re going to have to do some work on the roster.”
In terms of overall spending, however, Hall told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters that next year’s payroll is expected to be reduced to some degree. “Do I think we need to have the payroll number where it was this year? Probably not. But I think we can have just as good a team as we constructed by reinvesting the money that we have (saved) and then some,” Hall said.
Hall’s statement isn’t surprising since 2025 was viewed as something of an all-in season for the Diamondbacks, with ownership okaying the payroll boost since the entire roster core was in place. With several notable players slated for free agency this coming winter, a spending cut was pretty much inevitable just because of all the high salaries coming off the team’s books. In the aftermath of the trade deadline, the Diamondbacks have just under $107MM in guaranteed salaries set for 2026 (hat tip to RosterResource), though that number doesn’t factor in arbitration raises.
It doesn’t help matters that Corbin Burnes (Arizona’s highest-paid player) will miss most or all of the 2026 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Between Burnes’ absence and Zac Gallen slated for free agency, the D’Backs will have holes to fill in the rotation, plus they’ll be looking to fix a bullpen that has been a weak link for the better part of two years. The Diamondbacks’ offense has again been strong in 2025, but the absence of Suarez and Naylor means that next year’s lineup needs a lot more power.
Hall said he expects the D’Backs to still be able to make moves in free agency, and the CEO unsurprisingly didn’t give any specifics about how much GM Mike Hazen may or may not have to spend this offseason. It is possible the team doesn’t yet know the answer to this question, as Hall noted that attendance over the remainder of the season will impact next year’s payroll.
Hypothetically speaking, even if the Diamondbacks were to reduce payroll to 2024 levels, that still leaves Hazen with quite a bit of spending capacity to address the roster’s many needs. Trading a player like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (who drew interest prior to the deadline) who is only under guaranteed contract through 2026 is another avenue the front office could pursue to free up more money, if necessary.
With so much invested in long-term contracts, there is no sense that the Diamondbacks are planning a larger selloff or considering a rebuild in any respect. As disappointing as the last two seasons have been for the Snakes and their fans, there is still enough core talent in place that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the D’Backs return to contention by next year, though Hazen will again need to be creative.
“We can have just as good a team as we constructed by reinvesting the money that we have (saved) and then some.”
Here’s to another year pushing .500.
That quote, particularly “and then some,” implies a higher payroll rather than a lower one. But you are right that the implication is mediocrity rather than excellence.
Ah yes. Because losing half a season of your ace, closer, back up closer, and an additional rotation worth of players is totally the same output as the opening day expectations….
They also got MVP production from a 34-year-old 3B who had almost hit his way into retirement with Seattle. It balances out.
It very much does not lol. One great half season doesn’t replace an entire pitching staff
Corbin Burnes and two relievers are not an entire pitching staff. No one told Gallen and Pfaadt to be awful.
Dbacks were always an outlier, an “up and coming” team in 2023 that had a fluky run in the playoffs that year after being one of the worst teams in history a couple years prior, but which nonetheless wasn’t that young. Many of their key guys were already in their 30’s or on the path to free agency. So where they are now isn’t surprising. It’s not good though. They’ve got a couple young studs like Carroll but their farm is poor and their local TV money is low. Welcome back to the regular folks, AZ.
My heart doesn’t bleed for any baseball ownership, but I do feel a bit bad AZ got burned on three straight pitching contracts. Just the cost of doing business. I really like the job Hazen has done overall.
Embarrassing. Another billionaire owner pretending that the team is losing money while taking in hundreds of millions in profits through income, depreciation, borrowing against team values, and soaring locked in profit as team valuations go through the roof. Yet they want a useless salary cap so they can make even more money and steal from those who make the money for them. They refuse to actually open their books to an impartial evaluation while we see the two public company owners groups rolling in cash. Sad sad sad.
yawn. the team had a total profit of 9 million in 2024. 9 million. the le evil billionaire schtick may get upvotes on r/baseball, but it’s trite and lacks substance. Arizona just isn’t a big market area, they have to spend like cleveland
He’s just whining about finances that he doesn’t begin to understand.
They made 328 million last year and you say they netted 9million? What happened to the other 319 million?
statista.com/statistics/194793/revenue-of-the-ariz…
Never remember finances!
What’s finances? I just want to complain.
Yo-yo-ing payroll year to year doesnt show planning. Nor does it allow for consistency. It would help if they could either identify the right pitching to spend on or develop it from the farm.
I feel for D-Backs fans. Seattle usually does this during the offseason. I don’t know if they’ll decide to give either Geno or Josh new deals. The ownership, who are Nintendo executives, have as much money as anyone and are always around league average in total payroll.
The team is top five in terms of payroll as a percentage of overall revenues. The fact that ownership pushes payroll into the middle tiers is a sign of their commitment.
I’m sure Burn’s contract was insured so they could take that money and keep payroll near the same. Of course in case of a lockout, payroll issues will be the least of their concerns.
The Diamondbacks did get $500 million in tax payer in the last budget for “upgrades “. Spare me the poor sad sack act.
Hey, I applaud their ownership for at least trying to go all in.