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By Ari Wohl
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Less than two years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks were in the World Series against the Texas Rangers. In 2024, they watched the playoffs from home.
Replicating success is difficult in baseball, and Arizona has only made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons once in franchise history.
With a new frontline starter, a different all-star first-baseman, and a group of promising young players, the Diamondbacks look to rebound in 2025.
Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen can be the best 1-2 starters in the league
Corbin Burnes’ decision to leave the Baltimore Orioles and join the Diamondbacks seemed to come out of nowhere. Burnes, an Arizona resident, was the best free-agent starting pitcher on the market, but the Diamondbacks aren’t known to dish out $200 million deals.
The Diamondbacks payroll is about $184 million, the 13th highest in MLB, according to Spotrac. This is only the fifth time since 2011 that Arizona has had a top-15 payroll.
Burnes won a Cy Young award with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, when he led the league with a 2.43 ERA and the highest strikeouts per nine innings at 12.6. Since 2020, Burnes has been among the best pitchers in the league, recording a 2.88 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 142 ERA+ in that span.
“He is basically the standard. He has been unbelievable for the past five or six years,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said after Burnes was introduced to the media on Jan. 15. “I feel like he is going to make everyone around him better.”
Burnes joins Zac Gallen, who started Opening Day for the Diamondbacks the past two seasons. Since being acquired by Arizona from the Marlins in 2019, Gallen has a 52-34 record, 3.32 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 128 ERA+.
Whether Burnes or Gallen gets the Opening Day start, it could be the first time Arizona has two All-Star starting pitchers since Zack Greinke and Patrick Corbin were selected in 2018.
ESPN ranked the Diamondbacks rotation as sixth-best in the MLB due to the aces at the top and possible depth at the bottom.
“What it does is it takes us from a team that is really out there grinding to a team that is strongly considered to go out and win a lot of baseball games and hopefully stand at the top of the mountain at the end of the year,” Lovullo said on a podcast episode of “Foul Territory.”
The Diamondbacks look for Brandon Pfaadt, 26, to take another step forward in his third season. Pfaadt proved valuable in the 2023 playoff run and led the Diamondbacks with 13 quality starts and 181.2 innings pitched in 2024.
Three veterans – Merrill Kelly, 36, Jordan Montgomery, 32, and Eduardo Rodriguez, 31 – will likely make up the rest of the rotation. Montgomery could make the difference for the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff.
From 2021 to 2023, Montgomery had a 3.48 ERA and established himself as a consistent starter. In 2024 with Arizona, he struggled, finishing with a 6.23 ERA in 117 innings. The Diamondbacks will pay Montgomery $22.5 million this season, a contract that will be tough to trade unless he proves he can return to his prior success.
Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reported that Jordan Montgomery lost 20 to 25 pounds this offseason.
“He made a commitment to this group, to me, to this organization, that he was going to come into this spring training in the best shape of his life. And he looks great,” Lovullo said.
Offensive shakeup: Christian Walker out, Josh Naylor in
Long-time first baseman Christian Walker signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros this offseason. One day later, Arizona found Walker’s replacement by trading for Josh Naylor from the Cleveland Guardians.
“Great team, great players, young squad too,” Naylor said about the Diamondbacks’ roster. “Hopefully, (I can) just fit right in.”
Naylor instantly becomes one of the best bats in Arizona’s lineup after earning his first All-Star Game appearance last season. Since 2022, Naylor has averaged 28 homers, 116 RBIs, and a 123 OPS+ per 162 games. The offensive numbers are very similar to Walker’s in that same span: an average of 34 homers, 102 RBIs and a 123 OPS+ per 162 games.
And he’s just 27. Walker is approaching his 34th birthday next month.
“I am never really satisfied with the things I do,” Naylor said. “I just want to keep improving, keep having fun playing the game, continue to be the best leader and teammate I can, and grow as a person every single day.”
The biggest difference between Walker and Naylor is their defense. In 2024, Walker won his third straight Gold Glove Award and was in the 97th percentile in fielding range, according to Baseball Savant. His 13 outs above average was second best among first basemen. Naylor, on the other hand, was slightly above average, finishing in the 62nd percentile in fielding range.
“He is a phenomenal player and a phenomenal leader, too,” Naylor said about Walker. “I would love to fill in that role and step in his shoes to become the leader that he was in the locker room.”
What to expect from Corbin Carroll in year four
Corbin Carroll made his highly anticipated MLB debut in 2022 and was the No. 2 ranked prospect in MLB in 2023. Carroll won Rookie of the Year in ‘23 and finished fifth for the NL MVP after batting .285 with 25 home runs and 54 stolen bases. The season earned him a 5.4 WAR, according to Baseball Reference.
In 2024, Carroll’s stats dropped slightly. He did not make the All-Star Game and finished with a .231 batting average, 22 homers, 35 stolen bases, and a 3.4 WAR. Despite the drop, he ended the season with 122 runs scored, fifth most in the majors, and as one of only six players with 20+ homers, 30+ stolen bases, and 100+ runs.
One large difference between his 2023 and 2024 seasons was his ability to hit the breaking ball. Carroll saw 752 breaking balls in 2023 and batted .295 on those pitches, according to Baseball Savant. In 2024, he saw 735 breaking balls and batted just .182 against them.
He also showed signs of returning to his MVP form after the All-Star break. He batted .259 with a .919 OPS in the second half, much better than his .213 average and .635 OPS before the break, and 17 of his 22 homers came after the Midsummer Classic. In addition to his bat, Carroll is an above-average defender and one of the fastest players in the league.
If he can return to an MVP level, a trio of Carroll, Naylor and Ketel Marte could be lethal for opposing pitchers.
Spring training watch list: Adrian Del Castillo, Pavin Smith and more
Catcher Gabriel Moreno’s injury last August gave 25-year-old Adrian Del Castillo a chance to make his major league debut, and he did not disappoint. Del Castillo batted .313 with four homers and 19 RBI in 80 at-bats. With a healthy Moreno, Lovullo will have to figure out how to give Del Castillo playing time if he makes the Opening Day roster.
“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do. We want to continue to develop him as a catcher,” general manager Mike Hazen said Tuesday. “We’re probably not just going to shuffle him off to the DH right now. We want to see him play a position defensively and we’ll see where it shakes out this spring.”
Another 25-year-old who will be fighting for playing time is Blaze Alexander, who also made his MLB debut last year and played in 61 games. At the big league level, he batted .247 with three home runs, 19 runs scored and 21 RBIs.
Alexander will not only be fighting with established major leaguers, but also with Jordan Lawlar, the sixth-overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Lawlar dealt with injuries last year, playing in only 23 total games. In his abbreviated taste of the majors in 2023, Lawlar batted .129 with four hits in 14 games. At 22 years old, Lawlar will have to impress in spring training to make a spot on the big league club.
Pavin Smith is another former first-round pick looking for an everyday place in the lineup. Smith, 28, again split last season between the Triple-A Reno Aces and the Diamondbacks. Across three career stints in Reno, Smith batted .321 with 23 homers and 106 RBIs in 128 games.
Last season was his best at the big league level. He proved useful as a utility man, appearing at first base, left field and right field. Offensively, he batted .270 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 60 games.
“Maybe he’s not playing as much first base, but we still anticipate him getting his hacks in, and we want to see what that bat can do,” Hazen said about Smith after acquiring Naylor in December.
Smith is expected to split time at DH with recently re-signed Randal Grichuk. Arizona also brought in veteran utility man Garrett Hampson, and veteran first-baseman Trey Mancini on minor-league contracts.
Justin Martinez may claim closer role
The Guardians signed Diamondbacks free agent Paul Sewald this offseason after he led Arizona in saves last season with 16. Coming into spring training, Justin Martinez could make Lovullo’s job easy in the ninth inning.
Martinez, 23, appeared in 64 games last season for the Diamondbacks, finishing with a 5-6 record, 2.48 ERA, and eight saves. His average four-seam fastball velocity of 100.5 mph was second fastest in the league among qualified pitchers.
Something to watch for from Martinez during spring training is his command. Last season, Martinez walked 4.5 batters per nine innings. He proved he gets outs, finishing with 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, and a batting average against of .219.
If Martinez can lower the free passes and impress throughout spring training, he may earn sole possession of ninth-inning duties over veteran options such as Kevin Ginkel, A.J. Puk, and the recently signed Kendall Graveman.
“Somebody will emerge. I feel really good about the arms and I’ll match it up the best way I can,” Lovullo said Tuesday.
National League Wild Card picture is a crowded place
It seems like a foregone conclusion that the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers will win the NL West, though nothing in sports is ever guaranteed. According to Fangraphs, the Dodgers are currently projected to win 96 games, the most in the league, while the Diamondbacks are projected to finish second in the division with 86 wins.
“I was so proud of what we did, what we accomplished during the course of last season … we can’t lose any moments and we gotta go out there and close deals and win every game we’re supposed to,” Lovullo said on an episode of “Foul Territory.”
The NL East could feature three potential playoff teams with the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies near the top of preseason projections. Most predictions see the NL Central only represented by the Chicago Cubs, the division winner in the 2025 postseason.
With a well-balanced lineup and an above-average pitching staff, the Diamondbacks are positioned to make a run at 90 wins. If Burnes’ first phone call to Lovullo was any indication, this team is ready to get back to October baseball.
“He said, ‘Are you ready to win a s – – – ton of baseball games?’” Lovullo recalled. “And I said, ‘I’m always ready for that. Let’s go.’”
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