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Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen certainly didn’t earn Jim Bowden’s stamp of approval for this offseason.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden released his offseason grades for all 30 MLB teams for The Athletic. Bowden gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a scathing critique of their offseason, assigning them a D+ grade. He also predicts a fourth-place finish for Arizona.
The former Washington Nationals‘ GM said this about Arizona’s offseason.
“The Diamondbacks have had a rough offseason. So far, their only significant move was to bring back right-hander Merrill Kelly. They traded for Nolan Arenado, whose production has been declining, took a chance on the oft-injured Michael Soroka and added a backup catcher in James McCann. They also traded for a good bullpen arm, righty Josh Grosz, but had to part with speedy outfielder Jake McCarthy in the deal.”
Compared to the rest of the league, only two teams received worse grades: The Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians. Both American League Central teams got a D from Bowden.
It’s no surprise that the Diamondbacks are getting panned for their offseason. With a lot of payroll tied to injured players, it was going to be a tough winter for general manager Mike Hazen. With their payroll unlikely to exceed the $220 million figure from 2025, Hazen didn’t have much of a budget to work with.
The Diamondbacks had needs in the rotation, bullpen, and starting lineup. Ultimately, due to their payroll constraints, they were only able to address one of the three. So they’ll enter the 2026 season with an incomplete roster and hope to hold on until their injured players return.
Recapping the Diamondbacks Offseason So Far
As Bowden points out, their biggest moves were aimed at addressing a crumbling rotation. With Kelly traded to the Texas Rangers and Zac Gallen declining a qualifying offer, the Diamondbacks had at least two rotation spots to fill.
They filled them by bringing back Kelly on a two-year deal and taking a flyer on the oft-injured Soroka. In total, the two pitchers received a total of $47.5 million in guarantees.
While Hazen was working on shoring up the rotation, most of the top closers got snatched up in the free-agent market. The Diamondbacks’ GM defended his bullpen approach, with the rotation requiring more resources.
Their only moves with their relief corps were signing middle reliever Taylor Clarke, then taking minor league flyers on Derek Law and Jonathan Loaisiga. Hazen believes that pitchers will emerge from their internal depth to seize those roles.
For the starting lineup, the Diamondbacks’ biggest addition was third baseman Nolan Arenado. The aging veteran is expected to shore up the defense, but how much he can provide offensively is in question.
He’s coming off the worst season of his career since his 2013 rookie campaign. He managed just a .237/.289/.377 with 12 homers in 107 games in 2025. The underlying Statcast metrics point to a hitter whose best years are way behind him. While Hazen expects an offensive rebound from the future Hall of Famer, there are legitimate reasons to doubt it.
Aside from the pitching staff, the biggest issue facing the Diamondbacks is Jordan Lawlar’s fit. The former top prospect is blocked at his natural position of shortstop by Geraldo Perdomo. He didn’t help himself by struggling at both second and third base when given opportunities in 2025. Now, Arizona hopes he can find a way into the lineup.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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