The Amato Report - Diamondbacks
- Jim Santora
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The Dbacks went into the offseason after another disappointing finish and said "this ain't it," pulled an AJ Preller and elected to trade half the team. To be fair, this was the right call; there wasn't really anyone worth building around, and the offense - I think - had 2 or 3 players with a full set of at bats. YIKES. The pitching was in better shape, but needed innings.
NOTABLE OFFSEASON TRANSACTIONS
Acquired: Kyle Higashioka, Keibert Ruiz, Ivan Herrera, IKF, Jacob Young, Starling Marte, Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, Camilo Doval, Dylan Lee, Brendan Donovan
Departed: Brandon Nimmo (I mean was he really on this team?), Jared Koenig, Gabriel Moreno, Ezequiel Tovar, AJ Smith-Shawver, Jesus Sanchez
Strengths
Most positions that were black holes now have names attached to them. Arraez and Donovan have a combined 70 hit units vs RHP in a ballpark that swallows BP diamonds, so that should help a ton. The pitching staff is led by Andrew Abbott, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Lizard King Luzardo, and Michael King, and is a solid 1-4. The relief corps is strong and will allow the Dbacks to stay in games and retain leads.
Opportunities
Offense still needs a few cornerstones; the core guys now are good but would be better suited as secondary pieces. The defense - including the catchers' arm ratings - is also suspect as I am seeing a lot of 4's in the field and plus arms, but that can be resolved in the draft.
Draft day strategy
The Dbacks don't really have a black hole anywhere, so they can just go best available and that would work great. I think 3B could be a priority as you could pair that player with Miguel Andujar (who, somehow, was a 4e8 there???). Jacob Young in CF is a nice 1 there, but I could see the Dbacks going CF early in a draft that is razor thin in OF.
Keep an eye on these players in 2026 (in real life)
Nolan Gorman - should get everyday at bats with Arenado traded and JJ Wetherholt playing 2B, so this is a make or break year for him.
Ivan Herrera - already a known hitter, but given mostly DH duties with everyday at bats it'll be fascinating to see what kind of numbers he can put up. I could see him pushing for the batting title this year.
Zac Gallen - back to the Dbacks in real life and SOM, but the question is how will he bounce back? The last piece of Kevin Bell's 2020 Reds team now traded, it'll be interesting to see if Gallen can put hitters away and avoid the longball; the numbers are in line with previous years aside from the homer rate. There's still very much more in this tank...but I'm also biased as a fellow South Jersey little league player like Gallen was (but also not as talented as him, sadly).
2026 projected lineup and rotation
C - Kyle Higashioka
1B - Luis Arraez
2B - Otto Lopez
3B - Miguel Andujar
SS - Trevor Story
LF - Brendan Donovan
CF - Jacob Young
RF - Starling Marte
DH - Ivan Hererra
SP - Andrew Abbott
SP - Michael King
SP - Ranger Suarez
SP - Jesus Luzardo
SP - Zac Gallen
2026 projection
This team can really push for one of the last playoff spots. There's nothing flashy about them, but they will play to their park well and be in a lot of close games. I think the question is how do they perform when they are away as the lack of offensive power could be a concern.
Overall, 6th place is in play if the snakes are on the right end of these close games, so not a high ceiling. BUT, I also feel they have a moderate floor, so they could easily place 5th, or finish somewhere like 8th. If they are in it come the trade deadline, they'll definitely need to make a few moves. Overall, this was a good offseason for the snakes that should allow them to improve on their 2025 season.
