PHOENIX — When asked who the Diamondbacks’ 2025 MVP was, manager Torey Lovullo said before the season finale on Sunday that it was shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, “hands down.”

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America chapter for Arizona agreed when handing out annual awards, and by wins above replacement, Perdomo has the edge over terrific seasons from Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte.

Arizona’s best pitcher this season was arguably Merrill Kelly, who was traded at the deadline. Ryne Nelson, however, provided stability in the rotation after jumping in permanently at the start of June. He finished with the highest WAR among D-backs pitchers and won the BBWA award for Arizona’s pitcher of the year.

Let’s dive deeper into the seasons from two of Arizona’s core members and how they evolved their games in breakout 2025 seasons:

Team MVP: Geraldo Perdomo

The Diamondbacks picked the right time to extend Perdomo during this past spring training.

Perdomo played 161 of 162 games for the Diamondbacks to lead the team, fighting to stay in the lineup despite battling a bone bruise in his left hand during the entire second half. He still managed to hit .290 with an .851 OPS, showing his ability to tap into newfound power.

With the first 20-home run, 100-RBI season for a Diamondbacks shortstop since the team debuted in 1998, Perdomo became an offensive force unlike any of his previous seasons. This was a player who in 2022 hit .195 with five home runs. His previous career high for home runs was six, and he delivered more extra-base hits this season (58) than the previous two combined (56).

He has come a long way.

“He’s got pop,” said Marte, who works with Perdomo along with Guardians All-Star Jose Ramirez during the offseason. “I’ve tried to teach him to hit the ball in the air.”

“I think from a consistency standpoint, somebody that’s gone out there on both sides and been counted on and has answered the bell every single day, he gets my vote,” Lovullo said.

Perdomo managed to add power without taking away from the plate discipline that made him impactful previously. Perdomo worked a career-low 11.5% strikeout rate and career-high 13.1% walk rate this year. His whiff rate was also a career low at 12%, fifth lowest in MLB. It was really hard to strike him out because he did not chase pitches outside the zone nor swing-and-miss. He saw 3,007 pitches this year, fourth in MLB.

When asked questions about his season, Perdomo took pride in being available everyday, telling Lovullo to never take him out of a game whether the team is up big or being crushed. Cal Ripken Jr. was an inspiration to him, he said, and playing all 162 games is a goal.

He also showed frustration in his defensive output.

Perdomo made a career-high 18 errors this season, although his metrics graded out above average. He finished fifth in the NL among shortstops with three defensive runs saved and ninth with five outs above average.

That wasn’t good enough in his opinion.

“ I feel like it’s been a great season, but on the glove side for me has been my worst season,” Perdomo said. “Even if the numbers say it was positive for me, I feel disappointed by the way I’ve been performing on defense because that’s not me, and I feel that I’m the type of player who doesn’t make a lot of errors. … I feel I need to put a little bit more effort this offseason.”

Perdomo finished the season with 7.0 bWAR and 7.1 fWAR, both among the top two position players in the National League. Shohei Ohtani will win the NL MVP, but Perdomo had a season worthy of being a finalist.

Carroll had a historic year with 31 home runs, 32 steals, 32 doubles and 17 stolen bases, worthy of MVP votes, as well. He also positioned himself to compete for a Gold Glove in right field. Marte finished with 28 home runs and an OPS of .893, which ranked seventh in baseball.

This was a great year statistically for Arizona’s (dare I say?) Big 3, but Perdomo’s consistency, his team-leading WAR and win probability added (3.4) stand out.

IT AIN’T OVER. pic.twitter.com/M3EAOjZr9M

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 24, 2025

Diamondbacks’ top pitcher: Ryne Nelson

Nelson was thrown around in different roles over the first two months of the season, starting as a long reliever, filling in as a starter and eventually being pegged as a high-leverage bullpen arm. Then, Corbin Burnes suffered a season-ending injury, and Nelson was needed to fill a rotation spot.

In 23 starts, Nelson pitched 128 innings with a 3.16 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Among starting pitchers with at least 120 innings pitched, Nelson ranked 21st in MLB in ERA.

For a pitcher left on the outside looking into the rotation to start the year, Nelson said he never lost confidence in himself.

“I said it at the start of the year, I take a lot of pride whenever I get the ball in whatever role,” Nelson said. “I think that the mindset I was able to keep with that, just enjoying when I get the ball, I think helped me to stay positive, stay in in the moment. Just did my best to work really hard to go get outs for this team.”

Nelson only struck out 105 batters as a starter, but he limited walks to a well-below-average 6.8%, putting the ball in play and working through innings efficiently. He completed six innings in 11 of his last 16 starts, including seven of his final eight.

His consistency stood out in a rotation without much of that. Burnes went down at the end of May. Zac Gallen found himself after the trade deadline, Eduardo Rodriguez improved late in the season after a rough first half while Brandon Pfaadt had an up-and-down campaign. Kelly was consistently excellent (3.22 ERA in 128.2 innings) but was traded at the deadline to Texas.

“(Nelson) had a heck of a year,” Pfaadt said. “I know that’s the pitcher he can be moving forward. … He kind of held the fort down.”

Nelson continued to lean on his four-seam fastball (61%), but he found more success with the cutter, slider and curveball to provide more answers.

Ryne Nelson’s 3Ks in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/vJfrCm6H5t

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 25, 2025

He said this offseason he plans to focus on general improvements and fine tuning, along with working on getting stronger to maintain his durability.

Nelson threw a career-high 154 innings total.

“Just to make sure I can do that again next year,” Nelson said. “Build the body up. We’re playing one less month of baseball than I hope we play next year, so be ready for that.”

He also led the league in batting average (1-for-1):

RYNE NELSON IS BRINGING BACK PITCHERS WHO HIT!!! pic.twitter.com/gsOGsV8pGs

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 30, 2025