Expect Pitching to Be the Focus of Diamondbacks Offseason Moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be heading into the offseason to address major deficits on their pitching roster. They'll have to replace three starters in their Opening Day rotation and shore up the back of their bullpen.

These needs are a result of catastrophic injuries that happened during the 2025 season. They lost their best starting pitcher and two key relievers in the back of their bullpen by the middle of June. All of them will require elbow surgery and face a long road ahead before they can return to a major league mound.

"I don't think most teams lose their No. 1 starting pitcher and their two best bullpen guys, and it doesn't leave a mark," said D-backs GM Mike Hazen on Wolf & Luke. "It certainly left a mark for us."

The question will be how the team goes about its business to address those pitching deficits. Payroll is almost certain to be below the $179.2 million figure on Cot's Contracts. With $102.738 million already committed to their 2026 payroll, there might not be a lot of wiggle room. There may have to be trade-offs in how they address those needs in free agency and the trade market.

"I don't think it's realistic that we're going to put the band back together," said Hazen. "I think that we're going to try to be in the marketplace and pitching is going to be a focus for us."

D-backs Face Difficult Task Replacing 3 Starters from 2025 Rotation

The Diamondbacks will have to replace Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Corbin Burnes. Gallen and Kelly are free agents, while Burnes is unlikely to factor much into 2026, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The good news is Ryne Nelson has stepped up to take one of the rotation spots. Nelson was, in fact, the D-backs' best starting pitcher in 2025, posting a 3.39 ERA in 33 appearances (23 starts). However, he's still not ready to anchor this rotation. That could be a different story a year from now, if he continues to progress in 2026.

That's going to necessitate the team going out and paying good money to land a starting pitcher. A reunion with Kelly or getting Gallen to accept the $22 million qualifying offer seems like the best two bets. Arizona Sports Insider John Gambadoro reported Wednesday that the club will extend Gallen the qualifying offer.

I had already mentioned Kelly's expected market just days before the D-backs dealt him to Texas. A deal is probably multiple years for around $15-20 million, which I had speculated would cost 2 years and $40 million. He may give the club a hometown discount so he doesn't have to leave his young family behind in Arizona.

In Gallen's case, it's much more likely he rejects the qualifying offer and enters the open market. How much he'll get will impact the draft pick compensation the D-backs get if he signs elsewhere. It's still possible the team opts for a reunion with their Opening Day starter. If the offers are close enough to what they're comfortable paying, Gallen could be around for a while.

I don't think it's likely they'll splurge on two free agent starters like they did in 2024. They've already got a lot of money tied up in Eduardo Rodríguez and Brandon Pfaadt. They'll likely spend on a pitcher to anchor the top of their rotation. That leaves the fifth starter role open for a competition.

The club will have plenty of internal options to consider. They could opt for Cristian Mena, the most experienced pitching prospect they have. Other internal options include Kohl Drake, Yu-Min Lin, Spencer Giesting, Mitch Bratt, and Dylan Ray. All five pitchers are virtual locks to be added to the 40-man roster in November.

Opportunities will be few and far between for each, so it could be an intense competition next spring.

D-backs Must Find a Stopper to Anchor the 9th Inning

The yearly elephant in the room, the D-backs simply have struggled to put a cohesive bullpen together under Hazen. The D-backs GM admitted he didn't do enough to support the bullpen after the injuries that beset the unit not too far into the season.

The Opening Day bullpen arguably had the talent, but it never had a chance to prove it. Just 19 games into the season, they lost A.J. Puk for the season. Justin Martinez battled a dead arm period then shredded his UCL in June, which required his second Tommy John surgery.

Shelby Miller admirably filled in the rest of the way. Unfortunately, he also fell victim to the injury bug. He suffered an elbow injury scare in July before tearing the UCL in a game for the Milwaukee Brewers, after the D-backs moved him at the deadline.

Now Hazen finds himself in a difficult position. He clearly needs to shore up the 9th inning, and his previous measures have not been effective. He's failed with signing an aging closer after it worked the first time with Fernando Rodney. Mark Melancon, Ian Kennedy, and Greg Holland fill Hazen's graveyard of over-the-hill closers that didn't work out in Arizona.

The only time he successfully acquired a closer was paying up the wazoo for Paul Sewald in 2023. It cost him a controllable infielder, an outfielder prospect, and another top 10 prospect. It worked out, as Arizona made it to the World Series. Outside of 2017 and 2023, the closer spot has been one failure after another.

Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Edwin Díaz, and Robert Suárez figure to be the top closers on the free agent market. If they wanted to go the trade route, then they could turn to Pete Fairbanks or Dennis Santana. Fairbanks is coming off the healthiest season of his career, and Santana was a key late-inning arm for the Pirates in 2025.