Arizona Diamondbacks - The Covid-19 Years (2020-2029)

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2020

Decade

110

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Titles:

Top Diamondbacks Players of the Twenty Twenties

2023 - Won NLWC(Milw); Won NLDS(LA); Won NLCS(Phila); Lost WS(Texas)

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Zac Gallen (18.08) - 45

Chase Field

Merrill Kelly (15.19) - 32

Brandon Pfaadt (0.7) - 15

Team Name:

Ryne Nelson (1.04) - 11

Diamondbacks

Madison Bumgarner (-0.42) - 10

Kevin Ginkel (0.42) - 6

Owner:

Mark Melancon (2.26) - 5

Ken Kendrick

Eduardo Rodriguez (0.30) - 4

Corbin Burnes (2.06) - 1

General Managers:

Mike Hazen

Catchers:

Gabe Moreno (9) - 16

Managers:

Carson Kelly (2.72) - 11

Torey Lovullo

First Basemen:

No Hitters:

Christian Walker (12) - 32

2021 - Tyler Gilbert (San Diego)

Second Basemen:

Hall of Famers:

Ketel Marte (21) - 44

None

ShortStop:

Rookie of the Year:

Geraldo Perdomo (13) - 26

2023 - Corbin Carroll

Nick Ahmed (2.13) - 9

MVP:

Third Base:

None

Eugenio Suarez (6) - 15

Josh Rojas (3.23) - 13

Cy Young:

Eduardo Escobar (1.72) - 6

None

Outfield:

Notable Events:

Corbin Carroll (15) - 42

Lourdes Gurriel (5) - 19

The best thing that happened to the Diamondbacks in 2023 was also the worst.

Jake McCarthy (4) - 15

They snuck into the postseason as a wild card and then overachieved in the playoffs

David Peralta (2.69) - 13

making it to the World Series before losing to Texas. They did it with an 84-78

Alek Thomas (2.45) - 10

regular season record. In 2024, Arizona actually improved five games to 89-73

Daulton Varsho (6.46) - 9

and didn't even get the wild card. Last season, 2025, they were never in it

Joc Pederson (3) - 8

finishing 80-82.

Pavin Smith (0.6) - 7

Arizona expected to contend after their World Series appearance and have behaved

Kole Calhoun (1.26) - 5

as if they were a contender the past two years when the talent wasn't there.

Unfortunately, they'll need to keep going on that path of trying to shore up the

Notable Events:

weak spots rather than building a more sustainable long term team in 2026.

2020 - The Dbacks had a couple of ninety plus win seasons in the previous decade and

There's talent here, so a rebuild is impractical, but there isn't the quantity of quality

had a decent team in 2019, winning 85. They were riding a three year above

talent for a contender. A conundrum for sure.

.500 steak coming into the decade. Unfortunately for the Dbacks, the big story

Anyway, the Dbacks have spent on pitchers Corbin Burns and Merrill Kelly and were

of the '20 season occurred in '19 when the Dbacks jettisoned their ace

able to bring Zac Gallen back for a year. But they dealt away 1B Josh Naylor and 3B

righthander Zack Greinke and his 35 million a year contract to the Astros

Eugenio Sanchez at the trade deadline as they had to be somewhat schizophrenic

at the trade deadline. This deal was a killer psychologically for the 2020

in their approach to stay within budget. Unfortunately, the prospects for this team

Arizona club. With basically the same team, plus hot hitting FA OF Kole Calhoun,

would have looked a lot better if Naylor and Suarez were still around.

the Diamondbacks plummeted to a 25-35 mark and last place in the Division.

Starting Pitching:

We've seen it before, when ownership gives up on a club for whatever reason

□ Ace Corbin Burnes, 31, '25 FA from Baltimore, '25 3-2 2.66

(financial in this case), the spirit just isn't there anymore in the players left behind.

□ RHP Merrill Kelly, 37, FA in '19 after playing four years in Korea, '25 9-6 3.22

□ RHP Zac Gallen, 30, '19 trade from Miami, '25 13-15 4.83

□ The Arizona owner is Ken Kendrick who has been part of the ownership

□ RHP Brandon Pfaadt, 27, '20 draft 5th round, '25 13-9 5.25

group since the team's inception. He is not known for having deep pockets, altho'

□ RHP Ryne Nelson, 28, '19 draft 2nd round, '25 7-4 4.3.39

he'll fool you once in a blue moon like the time he signed Zack Greinke.

□ RHP Eduardo Rodriguez, 33, '24 FA from Detroit, '25 9-9 5.02

□ RHP Michael Soroka, 32, '26 FA from Cubs, '19 13-4 2.65

□ Mike Hazen is the GM since 2017 and had presided over Arizona's three

Arizona gave up 65 runs more than the league average last year. Starting pitching

winning seasons. Hazen had a good pedigree before coming over to the Dbacks

was supposed to be a strength, not a weakness. Corbin Burnes signed a six year

having worked in the highly successful Red Sox organization for eleven years.

210 million contract. Arizona was indicating they were all in with that contract.

Then Burnes got hurt after a good start and was out for the year. A devastating blow.

□ Torey Lovullo is the Diamondbacks manager and has been since 2017 and

Burnes had TJ surgery and will miss much of 2026, as well. No bueno.

was also riding the three season winning streak coming into the decade.

Behind Burnes is thirty seven year old righty Merrill Kelly who can still bring it.

Kelly was dealt to Texas at the trade deadline last year for three youngsters and

2020 - Not good juju for Diamondbacks fans. OF Starling Marte and P Archie

was signed by Arizona to a two year forty million deal after the season. Nice move

Bradley are jettisoned at the trade deadline.

by the Diamondbacks! Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt both won thirteen games

last season so they slot in nicely at three and four. Gallen signed for one year with

2020 - There are a number of keepers on the 2020 roster moving forward:

Arizona for the '26 season for 22 million. He had his worst year, by far, since '21

□ RHP Zac Gallen, 24, obtained from Miami in '19 for 2B Jazz Chisholm

which dampened his desirability as a free agent and the Diamondbacks were able

□ RHP Merrill Kelly, 31, signed in '19 after playing four years in Korea

to re-sign him at a reasonable price. Eduardo Rodriguez will fill in for Burnes while

□ Closer Archie Bradley, 29, dealt to Reds at deadline in '20

he is out. Ryne Nelson had the best ERA on the staff after Burnes went down.

□ C / OF Daulton Varsho, 24, '17 2nd round pick, dealt to Toronto in '23

There are a lot of ifs, everyone has them, but Arizona has a decent chance of

□ OF Starling Marte, 31, '20 FA from Pirates, dealt to Miami at deadline in '20

having an elite rotation: A healthy Burnes, a rebounding Gallen, a solid Kelly,

□ OF David Peralta, 33, '13 FA pickup, dealt to Tampa in '22

an emergent Nelson and an improving Pfaadt. Plus Rodriguez for depth.

□ 3B Eduardo Escobar, 32, fell off a cliff from 35 HRs in '19 to 4 in '20

Most teams would live with that. The Dbacks took a flyer on Michael Soroka who had

□ 1B Christian Walker, 30, '17 waiver pickup from Reds

a big year way back in '19 with the Braves.

□ 2B Ketel Marte, 27, '17 trade with Seattle involving five well regarded prospects

Relief Pitching:

□ IF Josh Rojas, 26, '19 trade from Houston for Zach Greinke

□ RHP Kevin Ginkel, 32, '25 1-4 7.36

□ OF Pavin Smith, 24, '17 1st round pick

□ Closer Justin Martinez, 24, '25 1-2 4.11

□ OF Corbin Carroll, 20, 1st round pick in '19 draft

□ Closer AJ Puk, 31, '25 0-0 3.38

□ OF Alek Thomas, 20, 2nd round pick in '18 draft

□ LHP Andrew Saalfrank, 28, '25 2-1 1.24

□ OF Kristian Robinson, 20, '17 IFA

□ RHP Ryan Thompson, 34, '25 3-2 3.92

□ SS Geraldo Perdomo, 20, '16 IFA

□ RHP Paul Sewald, 36, '26 FA from Detroit, '25 0-0 4.15

□ RHP Kade Strowd, 28, '26 trade from Orioles, '25 0-1 1.71

2021 - Arizona crashes and burns. 52-110. A disaster.

□ RHP Drey Jameson, 28, '19 draft 1st round, '25 0-1 3.00

Injuries play a big part in the decline, but a house cleaning is in order.

□ LHP Brandyn Garcia, 26, '25 trade from Seattle for Josh Naylor, '25 0-2 5.65

GM Mike Hazen has been doing a good job of building up the farm

Arizona had twenty nine blown saves last year and that was with a very effective

system so the team won't be terrible for long.

closer around in Shelby Miller. The pen would be in pretty good shape if Justin

2021 - OF Jake McCarthy, 23, is a rookie. '18 1st round pick

Martinez, AJ Puk and Andrew Saalfrank were healthy. But they're not.

Kevin Ginkel is penciled in as the closer assuming he is healthy.

2022 - After bottoming out, Arizona gains 22 games in the standings.

The rest of the pen is a mess. Can't understand why they didn't re-sign Jalen Beeks.

Improved pitching is the big reason for the gain as Zac Gallen and Merrill

He was solid last year. Anyway, they may just top the 29 blown saves of last year.

Kelly provide a nice one-two punch at the top of the rotation and the

Nelson boys, Kyle, 25, and Ryne, 24, pitch well out of the pen.

Regular Lineup:

□ C Gabe Moreno, 26, '23 trade from Toronto, '25 9 40 .285

2023 - A productive offseason trade with Toronto brings in OF Lourdes Gurriel

□ 1B Carlos Santana, 40, '26 FA from Cubs, '25 '11 54 .210

and catcher Gabriel Moreno in exchange for Daulton Varsho.

□ 2B Ketel Marte, 32, '17 trade with Seattle for 5 prospects, '25 28 72 .283

Gurriel end up with a .772 OPS and Moreno .747 which solidify the lineup.

□ SS Geraldo Perdomo, 26, '16 IFA, '25 20 100 .290

□ 3B Nolan Arrenado, 35, '26 trade from Cards, '25 12 52 ,237

2023 - Arizona gains ten games in the standings and finish a bit over

□ OF Corbin Carroll, 26, '19 1st round pick, '25 31 84 .259

.500 at 84-78. They are given no chance in the playoffs, but fool

□ CF Pavin Smith, 30, '17 1st round pick, '25 8 28 .258

everybody and beat the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies to make it to the

□ OF Ryan Waldschmidt, 23, '24 1st round pick, '25 A+-AA 18 78 .289

World Series. They come down to earth against Texas in the Classic.

□ DH Adrian del Castillo, 26, '21 2nd round pick, '25 4 17 .242

□ 3B Jordan Lawlar, 23, '21 6th overall pick '25 0 5 .182

2023 - Interestingly the Arizona offense doesn't improve from '22 runs-wise.

□ OF Lourdes Gurriel, 32, '23 FA from Toronto, '25 19 80 .248

It is league average. The pitching improves a bit, not a whole lot, and

□ CF Jake McCarthy, 28, '18 1st round pick, '25 4 20 .205

is still below league average. So the Diamondbacks overachieved a bit

□ CF Alek Thomas, 26, '18 2nd round pick, '25 9 38 .249

in the regular season. Usually when a team overachieves over what

Arizona scored 71 runs over the league average in 2025 offsetting the 65 runs over

it's stats would predict, it's the bullpen. However, the Diamondback

the league average that the defense gave up on their way to a near .500 record.

bullpen was pretty mediocre. All that being said, the difference between the

Over the trade deadlne in '25 Arizona dealt away 1B Josh Naylor and 3B Eugenio

22 Dback pitching and '23 was the improvement of the bullpen from poor

Suarez hurting the offense moving forward. Now that the Dbacks are back in

to mediocre. Five year veteran Kevin Ginkel, 29, was the big difference in

contender mode, they have signed forty year old Carlos Santana to replace Naylor

the bullpen going 9-1 with a 2.48 ERA.

and picked up thrity five year old 3B Nolan Arrenado in a deal for pitching prospect

Starters Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly remained the mainstays

Jack Martinez. Naylor and Suarez were dealt to Seattle for three young prospects

of the staff - Arizona would have been lost without either one of them.

because they were on expiring contracts and weren't going to be re-signed, but

it is a huge step down from Naylor/Suarez to to the aging Santana/Arrenado.

2023 - '19 first round pick, Corbin Carroll, 22, came up and tore it up

The core of the lineup is still intact: OF Corbin Carroll; 2B Ketel Marte; SS Gerardo

winning Rookie of the Year. He stole 54 bases and had an .868 OPS.

Perdomo; and C Gabe Moreno. Arizona will try to cobble together the bottom third

Combined with 1B Christian Walker, .830 OPS, and 2B Kettel Marte,

of the lineup from amongst Pavin Smith, Ryan Waldschmidt, Adrian del Castillo,

.844 OPS, the Diamondbacks had a solid core on offense.

Lourdes Gurriel, Jordan Lawlar, Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas and possibly

Because WAR and other traditional stats severely underestimate

youngster Slade Caldwell. Good luck with that.

the effect of game changing speed on results, the Diamondbacks

appeared to have an overachieving offense.

2024 - Arizona GM Mike Hazen had done a nice job as a rising Phoenix from

the ashes, so to speak, over the previous few years. Despite an against the run

of form journey to the World Series in ;23, the Dbacks were not there yet.

But, they were clearly moving in the right direction.

Arizona gave up more runs than they scored in '23 yet finished six

games above .500 and made the wild card. The Dbacks then got super

hot from there. Usually, when your record is better than your run

totals would predict (80-82), you've got a good closer who nails down

the close ones. Arizona had a good one in Paul Sewald, acquired from

Seattle at the trade deadline, who picked up thirteen saves down the

stretch. The Dbacks were just about at the league average in runs scored

last year and slightly above the league average in runs given up.

For '24 Mike Hazen had made some nice off season moves which, while not

making Arizona a contender for the Division Title against the vastly superior

Dodgers, solidified their run at another Wild Card.

On offense, the Diamondbacks had added slugging 3B Eugenio Suarez,

and hard hitting outfielders Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuck. Adding this

group to a nice core of hitters in Rookie of the Year and future super star OF

Corbin Carroll, slugging 1B Christian Walker, solid hitting 2B Ketel Marte,

solid hitting OF Lourdes Gurriel and up and coming young star C Gabriel

Moreno. They also had what they thought was a can't miss young SS prospect in

twenty one year old Jordan Lawlar. That added up to possibly a potential circular

lineup that could end up scoring well above the league average runs.

On the mound, things were looking up, as well. The Diamondbacks

had a nice one-two punch at the top of the rotation in Zac Gallen and

Merrill Kelly. Gallen, in particular, had emerged as one of the top starters

in the game. Adding to them were a pair of solid free agent lefties in Eduardo

Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery and the Dbacks felt they now had

a deep rotation.

The bullpen showed out in the post season in '23.

Sewald returned as the closer and Ryne Nelson, Kevin Ginkel and Miguel

Castro provided some quality depth

It turned out that all of these maneuverings did lead to a five game

improvement in the standings to an 89-73 mark.

Yet Arizona failed to qualify even for the Wild Card. A huge disappointment

2025 - Arizona signed 30 year old righty Corbin Burnes from Baltimore for

$210 million. DBack management knew they were close so decided to go all in.

They were in the World Series two years earlier in '23 and just missed the

playoffs last year in '24

2025 - Arizona traded 25 year old righty Slade Cecconi to Cleveland for

slugging first baseman Josh Naylor, 28, who was on an expiring contract.

He replaced Christian Walker. 33, who left for Houston as a free agent

on what turned out to be a half year rental.

2025 - Arizona deals Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez to Seattle at the trade

deadline. They were not going to be re-signed at the end of the year.