Diamondbacks Eliminated: Injuries, Missed Chances, and a Critical 2026 Offseason Ahead

A frustrating season for the Arizona Diamondbacks came to an end on Friday night. A loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park officially eliminated the D-backs from postseason contention.

Arizona signed Corbin Burnes and traded for Josh Naylor to headline their previous offseason. Coming off an 89-win season and missing the postseason due to a tiebreaker, getting back was the expectation in 2025. Instead, they'll enter the next offseason searching for answers and trying to find a way to rebuild this roster.

Injuries played a critical role, as the D-backs were slammed hard on the pitching side. Many of those injuries have an impact that carries through the majority of 2026.

Despite the injuries, and a big selloff at the trade deadline, the D-backs still nearly made an improbable run. They put themselves in a position to complete their miraculous postseason run. They had an 81.3% win expectancy on Wednesday, with a win putting them in control of their postseason fate. Instead, they failed to score and watched as their season crumbled to dust over the next 19 innings.

What's Next for the D-backs?

Assuming coaches don't get poached by other organizations, we can expect much of the coaching staff to return in 2026. Manager Torey Lovullo will be in the final year of a three-year extension he signed after the team's 2023 postseason run. It'll be his 10th season as the D-backs manager.

However, general manager Mike Hazen will have to do the heavy lifting. These are the primary areas he'll need to address.

• Starting Rotation: Replacing Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly
• First Base: Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear struggled, with both players finishing the year injured
• Backup Catcher: Bring back James McCann?
• Outfield: Tough decisions on Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, and Jorge Barrosa lie ahead
• Bullpen: Continuing the roster churn of arms, getting rid of ineffective ones

It's unclear what the payroll situation will be in Arizona. Per D-backs Stats and Info on X, the team saw its attendance rise to just under 2.4 million in 2025. That could help, but at the same time, missing out on the postseason twice also has an economic impact. The last two seasons, Arizona has assembled record payrolls and come short of the big dance.

According to Cots Contracts, the team ran a $179.2 million payroll for 2025. They have $106.2 million committed already for 2026. Assuming payroll will remain the same, that gives them $73 million to spend hypothetically. But it would be foolish to assume that's their offseason budget. In fact, payroll could be lower in 2026.

A good chunk of that will go through arbitration raises. The D-backs will have 11 players on their roster who are eligible in 2026. Some of them may get pushed out for the upcoming roster crunch.

Looming 40-Man Roster Crunch

The D-backs have nine players on the 60-day injured list and one on the restricted list. When the season ends, they will count toward the 40-man roster again. They'll have to make some decisions on players to designate for assignment and non-tender over the next six weeks.

Further handicapping their roster is the fact that they'll have to carry those injured players through the whole offseason. Five of them are likely to begin next season on the 60-day IL, recovering from major surgeries.

At the time of this writing, they have 39 players on their 40-man roster. So that means they'll need to open up eight spots in October, then decide what to do in November.

Some of the DFA candidates include:

• RHP (7): Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson, Jake Woodford, Casey Kelly, Gus Varland, Elvin Rodriguez, Joe Elbis (restricted list)
• LHP (2): Kyle Nelson, Tommy Henry
• INF (1): Connor Kaiser
• OF (3): Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Jorge Barrosa

In addition, they have some prospects who need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. They've got a healthy list of prospects banging on the door in Triple-A Reno who could be taken in the draft. However, that decision isn't until the middle of November.

It's almost a guarantee they'll add Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt, who they picked up in the Merrill Kelly deal in July. Other internal prospects who could see their inclusion to the 40-man roster include Spencer Giesting, Dylan Ray, and Yu-Min Lin.

Kristian Robinson is a dark horse candidate, especially if they make deep cuts in the outfield.

Pending Free Agents

The biggest free agent is Zac Gallen. Thanks to a strong run after the trade deadline, he's a candidate to receive the qualifying offer from the D-backs. The qualifying offer, an average of the top 125 salaries in MLB, is expected to be worth $22 million for 2026. The expectation is that Gallen will decline the offer and test free agency.

The D-backs, if they can't re-sign their Opening Day starter, are hoping he exceeds $50 million in free agency. Should that come to pass, they would get a Top 30 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Depending on how the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year voting shakes out for Drake Baldwin of the Braves, it could be Pick No. 27 or 28.

Jalen Beeks, Ildemaro Vargas, and James McCann are the other impending free agents on the team. All of them served a useful role to the club in 2025 and could be brought back in 2026 on modest deals.