PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo gave their end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, and Hazen made it clear which areas of the roster will be the focus as the offseason begins.
Starting pitching and the bullpen will be “fixations” after the Diamondbacks finished 23rd in MLB with a 4.49 ERA and led the National League with 29 blown saves.
Ensuring the defense is positioned to better help the pitching staff limit runs is another priority.
“ I do think on the whole, our defense was considerably different in the second half. I do think that helped smooth out the pitching that we were all very frustrated by in the first half of the season,” Hazen said. “I think that’s probably something I’m gonna look to lean into a little bit more aggressively into the offseason.
“We’ve led baseball in runs for the last couple years at various points in time, certainly a top five offense over that timeframe. I think we’re capable of having a little less thunder in the middle of the lineup if we’re offsetting that with a much better defensive team.”
The Diamondbacks additionally decided to run it back with Lovullo for a 10th season, while other decisions on the coaching staff have yet to be finalized.
After a series of trade deadline deals, the Diamondbacks’ position player core is all under contract for next year, while the rotation faces the threat of losing Zac Gallen as a free agent. Ace Corbin Burnes is expected to be back at some point next summer after recovering Tommy John surgery.
Managing partner Ken Kendrick told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo that the team’s payroll is expected to decrease next season after a franchise-record $188 million in 2025 but will remain competitive. Hazen said that won’t prevent him from making improvements.
“I don’t care what the number is, we’ll figure it out,” Hazen said. “We have a lot of good young players. We have a lot of good young minor league players that all had really good years.
“We traded off players at the deadline and picked up nine new players. We should have access in the trade market to make improvements to this roster without money. … I don’t think on the whole, building a better defensive club comes at as high a cost as having to put together a huge offensive club. The starting pitching is gonna be something we’re gonna need to focus on. That’s probably the number one area outside of building the bullpen again.”
He made the point that Burnes, relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez along with left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. should provide in-season additions off the injured list to boost the roster.
Diamondbacks needs entering offseason
Building a bullpen
The Diamondbacks used more relief pitchers than any other team in baseball with 37 arms throwing at least an inning. Seventeen different pitchers recorded a save.
They got crushed by bullpen injuries.
Beyond Puk and Martinez undergoing elbow surgeries, Kevin Ginkel spent two extended periods on the injured list, Ryan Thompson was down for nearly two months, Christian Montes De Oca was lost for the year after his MLB debut, Jalen Beeks spent time on the IL and Shelby Miller suffered a forearm strain and did not return until after he had been traded.
The bullpen ERA was 3.48 over the first three weeks before Puk and Martinez suffered injuries. After that, it was 5.00.
Puk is expected to return ahead of Martinez next year.
“It’s definitely not bad luck, we need to do a better job of putting together a bullpen,” Hazen said.
“How we’re using some of the bullpen, we need to do a better job at. I think the group underneath the pitchers that have gone out, it hasn’t been a strong enough group to come in and fill the holes as needed. … I think it’s on us, the group of kids that are in Reno to start the season have to be in a better spot to come up and plug holes in the back end of the bullpen.”
Arizona gave young/inexperienced relievers extended looks to varying degrees of success during the second half, Andrew Saalfrank, Brandyn Garcia, Juan Morillo and Taylor Rashi among them.
What about a closer?
When asked about whether finding a closer would be a priority, Hazen said “probably.”
The Diamondbacks entered the season with the plan of having Puk and Martinez tag-team the ninth inning based on matchups. When they both went down, Miller took on that role before hitting the IL.
“I think having a closer has definitely set up some of our better bullpens,” Hazen said. “We had three of them this year. They all got hurt. … What you would perceive as me going out and getting a closer, there’s probably a little more gray to that. I think setting up the bullpen from the ninth inning moving forward makes a lot of sense.”
There are numerous relievers with closing experience set to enter the free agent market, such as Kenley Jansen, Ryan Helsley, Brandon Finnegan, Raisel Iglesias and Devin Williams. Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez are All-Star closers with opt-outs.
Starting rotation
The Diamondbacks have a rotation of Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez for next season, and Burnes will join it sometime in July if all goes to plan.
That leaves a couple holes to fill for the start of the season.
The Diamondbacks have signed expensive starting pitchers over the past two offseasons and have yet to receive a great return on investment.
Gallen and Merrill Kelly are free agents to watch this winter, joining a group alongside Shane Bieber, Ranger Suarez, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Justin Verlander and Chris Bassitt, among others.
As Hazen pointed out, trades are another outlet with the Diamondbacks having some positional flexibility. Hazen mentioned that the number of players on the roster capable of playing center field (Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Blaze Alexander, Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa) presents an advantage on the trade market.
Defensive alignment
How do we know which positions the Diamondbacks need to upgrade on the field? The versatility of several players makes that a deeper question.
There are, in Hazen’s words, three or four spots that are clearly marked. Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop, Carroll in the outfield, Ketel Marte at second base and Gabriel Moreno behind the plate represent the core.
Alexander handled himself at third base, while Jordan Lawlar struggled defensively. Arizona did not get much production at first base after trading Josh Naylor, as rookie Tyler Locklear and Pavin Smith struggled before suffering season-ending injuries.
The D-backs were a bottom five team in OPS from center fielders, while left field is a question without Gurriel.
“I think the priority in putting defenders all over the field that can focus on run prevention are gonna be part of that equation,” Hazen said. “If I can run into a guy that’s gonna hit 40 (home runs) and be an above-average defensive player, then yeah, I’m gonna go get that guy. But I don’t know what that’s gonna cost.
“I think if it was a 60-40 call right now, I think it’s probably more defense than it is selling out for the bat.”
Grinding down pitchers in a way that Perdomo in particular has mastered, Hazen said, is the team’s desired offensive identity.
The Diamondbacks finished sixth in scoring this season after they led the league in runs in 2024.
Even after the trade deadline, Arizona sported a top-eight scoring offense.
Carroll and Perdomo were among the best hitters in baseball, Marte worked another All-Star season and Moreno really came on after returning from injury over the last six weeks.
What about third base, center field and the plan for Alexander and Lawlar as young building blocks?
“We will see what happens through the course of the offseason,” Hazen said. “I think Jordan’s gonna play winter ball. Blaze did a great job for us at third base. We know Blaze can play second base. We know Blaze can play center field. I’m curious to know if Jordan can play center field. Tim Tawa can play center field.
“There’s kids coming up in Double-A and Triple-A that can man some of those positions. I don’t know that maximizing the versatility of every player is gonna be to our benefit. I think we saw some benefit of leaving Blaze alone at third base. Somebody is going to have to be able to do that.
“I think there’s three or four guys on the diamond we all know are gonna be in those positions. Then we’re gonna work around that with that group of players. They probably all don’t make the team. … The one thing I encouraged them when I met with them in August was don’t let me sign players on top of you if you don’t go out there and earn this opportunity. I think some of those players took a step forward … Now it’s gonna be on them to go and do it again because on April 15, what happened this September, April 15 is gonna win out.”
Hazen and Lovullo, along with Kendrick on the radio, were clear entering the offseason that making it back to the postseason in 2026 is the goal after the team fell short these past two seasons.
