The Diamondbacks finished the season at 86-76 but just barely missed the playoffs via the Phillies’ win over the Rays on the final day of the regular season. They’ll enter the offseason looking to upgrade and get back to October in 2027, and they’ll have some leadership continuity with manager Torey Lovullo retained for at least two more years. From a roster standpoint, the D-backs will focus on improving against right-handed pitching, as general manager Mike Hazen told reporters on Thursday (link via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic).
“The offseason priorities, from an add standpoint, are certainly going to be somewhere being a little more left-handed,” Hazen said. “We struggled versus right-handed pitching this year. So that’s a clear and obvious one.” Hazen unsurprisingly added that those upgrades may come at first base and DH, where the D-backs struggled mightily in 2026. Arizona’s first basemen combined for a meager 74 wRC+, ranking dead last in the Majors at that position. Their DHs had a 77 wRC+ and outperformed only the Royals (67 wRC+).
While the D-backs were third-best in the league against southpaws (114 wRC+), they were fourth-worst against right-handed pitching, running a 92 wRC+ in such situations. They had a total of ten hitters take at least 150 plate appearances against righties, and of those, only Gabriel Moreno, Geraldo Perdomo, and Nolan Arenado were above-average by wRC+. Corbin Carroll (95 wRC+) was a few points below average. The other six ranged from bad to unplayable.
Arizona most often turned to switch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas at the cold corner. He played a career-high 486 1/3 innings there and actually fared pretty well, earning +7 Defensive Runs Saved and +2 Outs Above Average. Vargas’ bat was much less impressive. As a righty facing lefties, he hit a dominant .321/.347/.500, but he only batted .216/.271/.309 as a lefty facing right-handers, good for a 59 wRC+. The latter was partly deflated by a low .239 average on balls in play, but it’s nonetheless in line with Vargas’ career struggles against righty pitching. He crossed the six-year service time threshold this year and is therefore a free agent.
The DH spot was more of a revolving door. Adrian Del Castillo, regular second baseman Ketel Marte, and Moreno got over 100 plate appearances apiece in that role. Marte and Moreno were slightly above average, though the latter’s 107 wRC+ as a DH lagged behind his 141 wRC+ overall. Del Castillo put up the worst numbers of his three-year big league career, batting .193/.246/.309 in 197 plate appearances overall. Marte had a down seasons by his standards and is facing renewed questions about his maturity, though he’s likely to remain in the organization thanks to his 10-and-5 no-trade rights.
It makes sense to give Moreno the occasional DH day as a break from regular catching, but otherwise, the Diamondbacks could look for someone to fill that spot on a near full-time basis. The same may be true of first base, since Vargas is unlikely to return except as a defensive backup and Tim Tawa, who played 51 games at first, is well below average for that spot offensively.
The trouble will be finding suitable left-handed hitters in free agency. Owner Ken Kendrick has publicly stated that the team will reduce payroll in 2027. Zac Gallen and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are coming off the books, but the D-backs hope to reunite with Michael Soroka (likely at a higher salary) and will need to be smart about how they address their other needs.
MLBTR’s Leo Morgenstern and Steve Adams previewed the upcoming first base and DH classes, respectively. Jake Bauers, Josh Bell, and Nathaniel Lowe are among the lefty or switch hitters they could target for first base. Bauers and Bell handled lefties and righties equally well this year (Bauers more so than Bell). The former would be a more meaningful upgrade, and he could be signed for a one-year deal or a multi-year pact with opt-outs. The options are more limited at DH, with Bell and Joc Pederson representing the best choices, and most of the others being right-handed hitters.
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