The Arizona Diamondbacks and the rest of the NL West have their work cut out for them as the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers continue to set the bar higher and higher financially.
It’s not an ideal spot for the Diamondbacks to be in, with owner Ken Kendricks likening the division rival to a “900-pound gorilla” this past weekend.
But when it comes to any kind of realignment, which could be on the table if expansion teams come into play, Arizona isn’t looking to jump ship from the current gold standard of MLB.
Instead of wanting to run from the challenge, Arizona is embracing it.
“I really like being in their division,” D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall said during Newsmakers Week on Bickley & Marotta. “I do think we’ve built that rivalry especially with postseason success for both of us the last number of years. I enjoy it. I like the challenge. I do again credit them. I compliment them for building the team the way they have. They’re an unbelievable organization. Yet it is fun. It’s fueling for us to be in this division. And here we are spending as much money as we ever have and they’re spending double, right?
“Until and if that ever changes, that’s the way it’s going to be and we just have to accept that, but I like the challenge and there was nothing sweeter than in ’23 going in there and winning those first two and coming here and winning Game 3 and sweeping them to go on to the NLCS. I mean that was about as fruitful as it could be.”
While the Dodgers continue to shell out massive pay days for some of the league’s top talents — which has also stoked the flames of a looming lockout — the Diamondbacks are setting their own high marks in spending this offseason despite the expectation the payroll wouldn’t exceed last year’s watermark.
Part of those added expenses was trading for third baseman Nolan Arenado this offseason and most recently bringing back longtime starting pitcher Zac Gallen on a one-year deal.
The two sides remain in far different places, however. Los Angeles is angling for a three-peat in 2026 and is projected to once again be a top contender with a win total over/under of 103.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook. Arizona is hoping to bounce back from an 80-82 mark that was filled with injury and inconsistency last season. It currently has an over/under of 79.5 wins after missing the playoffs in each of the past two years.
Don’t forget about the San Diego Padres (84.5) and San Francisco Giants (81.5), who are projected to be slightly better than the Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies are projected to finish at the bottom of the NL West (54.5).
“I do like the rivalries we have right now,” Hall said. “I like the fact that we do have that rivalry with the Dodgers, whether people want to admit it or not. And they’ve always tried to create a natural rivalry between us and the Tigers and then it was us and the Rockies, but I think the fact that the Dodgers, the Padres and the Giants all compete with us, I do like it.”
That being said, realignment could be beneficial in another department.
“I like the way we’re situated right now, but I could definitely be open to realignment if it helps all of us from a travel standpoint,” Hall said.
“We’ve had a lot of realignment in the past,” he added. “I can remember what our division was before we were around. It was the Reds and the Braves in that division, which didn’t make much sense back then. So, I think geographically, there always could be a need for realignment.”
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