Diamondbacks Walking Fine Line Between Winning and Development

When the Arizona Diamondbacks decided to sell off all of the veterans on expiring contract at the trade deadline, they were mired in a slump and well below .500.

By the time the dust settled on July 31, Merrill Kelly, Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor, Shelby Miller, and Randal Grichuk had all been traded off a 51-58 team for prospects.

The Diamondbacks are In Both Development and Win Mode

General manager Mike Hazen addressed the team the next day, and at one point specifically focused on those young players that were going to get an opportunity to play and show whether or not they could create a role on the 2026 team. It was their opportunity, and up to them what they do with it.

Manager Torey Lovullo explained how he's handled it.

"Based on the conversation that Mike had on August 1, it's all we can do. We're going to make sure that we go out there and give these guys the right amount of reps and the right amount of time to perform and show us what they're capable of doing."

That's included utlilizing Blaze Alexander every day, all over the diamond, and he's thrived, both on defense and offense. Several relievers have emerged to play important roles, including Andrew Saalfrank, Jake Woodford, and Kyle Backhus, among others.

Jordan Lawlar is back up with the team, and after a hitless stretch, has begun hitting the ball harder and getting hits. First Baseman Tyler Locklear is slowly emerging out of a slump.

Meanwhile Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno have continued their excellent seasons, and Zac Gallen has rebounded into ace form over his last seven starts.

Shockingly, the Diamondbacks are 21-13 since August 1, improving their record to 72-71. They suddenly find themselves on the periphery of playoff contention, 4.5 games behind the New York Mets and 5.5 behind the Padres.

What started out looking like a time for focus on player development and answering questions for 2026 has quickly morphed back into winning as the priority. According to Lovullo, winning games has always been his priority, however.