Five Takeaways From the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2025 Season

In his 63 games in Triple-A this year, Lawlar hit 11 home runs while driving in 50 runs, stealing 20 bases, and hitting .313. His 130 wRC+ was the highest its been in a stint consisting of this many games at any level dating back to his combined 100-game showing in the 2022 season.

After starting his season in a 0-for-31 cold spell, Lawlar turned it up a notch in the regular season’s final month. In an 18-game sample, he went 12-for-39 (.308) with seven doubles, five runs driven in, and an .851 OPS. It’s a small sample size, but it’s also a significant step in the right direction.

A unique blend of pop, speed, and elite defense has Lawlar brimming with potential. The unfortunate truth is that so far he’s been nothing but upside without any follow-through in the big leagues. Once he gets a longer look and a comfortable starting position in next year’s lineup, he should finally start to deliver on all of this hype.

Interestingly, he just played a full nine-inning contest as a center fielder in the Dominican Winter League, which makes all the sense in the world with his above-average range defensively. This will be something to monitor.

Geraldo Perdomo Is Taking the Next Step to Superstardom

How about we touch on something good for once?

Fortunately, we don’t have to look any further than Perdomo, who emerged as a legitimate stud this year for the Snakes. Arizona’s primary leadoff man played 161 games and was through and through one of the most valuable players in the game. We’re not just talking shortstops, we’re talking all players.

Perdomo, 26, signed a four-year, $45 million contract extension with the Dbacks back in February, and it looks like the team might’ve just made out like bandits here.

He finished his season with 7.1 fWAR which was fifth-highest in all of baseball behind only Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr., Cal Raleigh, and some guy named Judge. He topped fellow superstars like Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and countless others in this department, which is nothing to scoff at.

While playing nearly every game of the year, Perdomo never stopped proving his value on both sides of the ball. The switch-hitter recorded 20 home runs with 100 runs driven in, 98 more runs scored, 27 stolen bases, and a .290/.389/.462 line. He topped this all off with an .851 OPS and 138 wRC+. Oh, and he also walked (13.1 BB%) more than he struck out (11.5 K%) which is a lost art in today’s game.

We’ve covered the offensive side of things, but you can’t talk about Perdomo’s overall value without bringing up his defensive chops. To be clear, Perdomo is not topping the charts in any one defensive metric, but an 88th percentile finish in Outs Above Average and 70th in Arm Strength is fantastic from a player you’re already getting so much from out of his bat alone.

Perdomo finished the year 15th amongst qualifying shortstops in Fielding Run Value, 13th in OAA, seventh in Defensive Runs Saved, and in a six-way tie for third in Success Rate at the position. That’ll play just fine.

The Pitching Staff Needs a Major Facelift

One major issue the Dbacks consistently face is trying to bring in solid, reliable pitching from outside of the organization. Their biggest splashes on the free-agent front over the past few years have come in the form of Burnes, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Jordan Montgomery.

To recap:

• Corbin Burnes: Tommy John surgery just 11 starts into his six-year contract
• Eduardo Rodriguez: 5.02 ERA across 39 starts, still under team control for a minimum of two more years
• Jordan Montgomery: 6.23 ERA in 25 outings in 2024, DNP in 2025

Things have not gone well for the Snakes the past few times they’ve thrown some money around on the open market. That doesn’t change the fact that they’re going to have to continue to take the big swings, even if they wind up missing multiple times in a row.

Regardless of their recent success (or lack thereof), the team can’t continue to lean this heavily on their offense. Dbacks starters finished 19th in baseball with a 4.29 ERA and they allowed the eighth-most hits and 10th-most home runs. Staff ace Zac Gallen didn’t look like the ace the club needed him to be throughout the year, but he’s set to hit free agency. Perhaps the organization would be better suited to try and find a cheaper (and perhaps more reliable) alternative on the open market.

Their 4.82 bullpen ERA was all the way down in 27th on the league-wide leaderboards. Arizona’s relief corps also combined to finish 26th in FIP, 29th in Win Probability Added, and 20th in total earned runs allowed. No matter which way you slice it, this pitching staff needs a boost.

Even if the Dbacks don’t go straight to the top of the market like they did when they signed Burnes, there are going to be a handful of legitimately useful free-agent arms out there this winter. The same can be said for the relief-pitching side of things, where the club could also use some help.

Whether they aim high for a Michael King or settle for a second-tier starter (or two!) like Ranger Suarez and/or Lucas Giolito (if healthy), the Dbacks’ need for starting pitching is painfully obvious.

One or more of Robert Suarez, Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Kyle Finnegan, or Luke Weaver would also go a long way to helping this team turn around their fortunes in 2026.

Corbin Carroll Is Getting Even Better

We’ve already covered how rock-solid Geraldo Perdomo is on both sides of the ball. What he can do on offense and defense makes him fit into a rare breed in today’s game.

Now take his two-way prowess and add an even better bat with more speed and better defensive chops. Now you’ve got his teammate, Corbin Carroll.

Carroll, 25, burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old star and has never looked back. Sure, he had a “down year” in 2024, but keep in mind that that “down year” still resulted in 22 home runs, 35 stolen bases, a 107 wRC+ and 4.3 fWAR. Some players never have a career year that’s as good as Carroll’s “bad” year was.

In 2025, he played in the least amount of games he’s appeared in since turning in his first full season in 2023. Despite that, Carroll managed to hit a career-high 31 home runs while also setting a career-high in RBI with 84. Once again, he walked in over 10% of his appearances and he raised his career-best ISO by over .40 points.

In the process, Carroll also posted a 139 wRC+, which is the highest of his career. To stick with the common theme here, the 6.5 fWAR he posted in 2025 was … also a new career-best. In fact, this was 1.2 wins higher than the mark he had in 2023 when he won NL Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star Game, and finished fifth in the NL MVP voting.

Carroll has long been known as an incredible defender out in the grass, but he improved all across the board as the Dbacks’ primary right fielder in 2025. The 2019 first-round pick set new career-highs in DRS (7) and OAA (9), leading the way in the latter category amongst all qualifying right fielders.

Just Baseball’s Daniel Rotter took a closer look at what fueled Carroll’s power surge this year, and it’s a read I can’t recommend enough.

Seeing Carroll go from superstar to, well, super superstar was a treat this year. If he can get into those additional 15-20 games in 2026, expect his numbers to continue to go up across the board. It seems that he’s going to continue to be a menace in the Dbacks’ lineup for many, many years to come.