I’ll be honest, I’m still processing how this season went for the D-Backs. It’s difficult not to watch another Diamondbacks-less postseason without thinking about how this team might have performed if things had gone differently. Could they have feasted on that weak Dodger bullpen? How would this pitching staff have attacked a Cubs offense that scored more runs than everyone but Los Angeles and the Brewers? Sadly, these questions (along with many others) must remain as hypotheticals because of the massive disappointment that this year turned out to be. I’m still not quite ready to try and put all of my initial thoughts about this season onto paper, but I also wanted to start externally processing some of the thoughts I was having. So in the spirit of not dwelling solely on the negative or disappointing aspects of this season, I wanted to jot down a few more positive developments we got to witness.
Further Player Development
Despite the undisputed disappointment we all suffered this season, there was at least one particularly bright spot that helped ease the disappointment: the continued development of younger players like Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll. It’s easy to dismiss in hindsight, but there were pointed questions for both of these players coming into this season. For Carroll, his sophomore season was a particularly disappointing follow-up to a breakout campaign in 2023 while Perdomo needed to quickly demonstrate why the front office showed so much faith in him by inking him to a contract extension back in February. Both players took incredible steps forward in their individual development with the pair coming in the top-10 of position players in the National League by bWAR, on-base plus slugging (OPS), and RBIs. Even better, they both focused on specific weak aspects of their respective games and showed demonstrative improvement in them. Those two leading the team alongside Ketel Marte adds a level of upside and offensive ceiling that the team hasn’t had in quite some time.
Fan Engagement and Support
Even when it became clear that this team wasn’t likely going to return to the postseason this year, Arizona fans managed to stay both engaged and show their fervor wherever I could see. After an unsurprising jump in attendance in 2024 after their unexpected World Series run the previous fall, I worried that some of that positive momentum might ebb. Instead, the team eclipsed the attendance numbers from last year and the ~2.4 million total people who pushed the turnstiles at Chase Field is in the top-10 for the franchise. It’s always refreshing to see ownership open up the checkbook and invest in the team to then have the fans support the team by attending games and staying engaged through the more difficult stretches of a long season.
As a sport, baseball continues to emphasize players being as young as they can be for roster construction. The D-Backs were no exception to this rule as just 23 out of the 65 total players that appeared for the team were past their 30th birthday. Then, as the team’s playoff aspirations began to crumble away, the front office shipped off five of those 30-plus year olds to further youthify the roster. Thus, for next season, it’s entirely possible that the team may be fielding one of its youngest cumulative rosters since this contention window opened back in 2023. That possibility is both exciting and worrying as younger players are obviously likely to be less experienced, but can also be more malleable. It does give me an additional level of hope for next season as several acquired players from this year’s Trade Deadline could prove to be important contributors as soon as next season. I can’t wait to see what they’ll do.