Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno against the Boston Red Sox at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

D-backs Catcher Gabriel Moreno's Ceiling Depends on One Thing

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Arizona Diamondbacks know they have a weapon in young catcher Gabriel Moreno. He's been an important part of the D-backs' climb back into relevance since being traded to Arizona from the Blue Jays as part of the Daulton Varsho deal.

Moreno is an excellent defensive catcher in many ways. He earned a Gold Glove Award in his rookie season with Arizona, throwing out runners at an enormous rate.

His bat has always been a positive asset, as well. For his young major league career, he owns a .281 batting average, .753 OPS and 108 OPS+ (8% above average). Arizona simply seems to be a better team when Moreno is playing.

But Moreno's one weakness has been in his ability to call pitches and follow the flow of a game. Manager Torey Lovullo has spoken at length about the young backstop's need to improve in that regard.

Diamondbacks Gabriel Moreno's Ceiling Depends on This

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

It was that very factor that led to Moreno beginning to split more and more time with veteran catcher James McCann, once Moreno was healthy toward the latter end of 2025.

It's not that Moreno doesn't have a high ceiling already. But that ceiling could be somewhat limited if pitchers were to perform worse when throwing to him.

On top of the run prevention factors present, Moreno simply won't have as many opportunities to flex his excellent defensive abilities if he's splitting starts behind the plate.

He posted 2.15 aWAR (average of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs) and +8 Fielding Run Value in 2025 despite spending two months on the IL and losing some of his starts to McCann.

Moreno is not a platoon player. He has all the makings of a franchise catcher and a legitimate offensive threat. But if he isn't getting as many starts at catcher, his full potential will have a difficult time coming to fruition.

Of course, the other factor is health. Moreno has been beset by injuries in his time with the D-backs, limiting his action to just 291 games over three seasons.

If he's unable to stay healthy, that will also significantly dampen his overall WAR and volume-related stats.

Pitch-calling is an aspect of one's game that comes with experience — learning the ins and outs of opposing batters and what their swings mean. Part of the reason McCann was so valuable to Arizona in that regard was simply due to his lengthy career.

With all that in mind, electing to re-sign McCann could be a win-win for the D-backs. The more Moreno learns those type of experience-related skills (as long as he stays healthy), the higher his ceiling will be.

It's a process, after all.