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Jun 27, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (7) celebrates with teammates Geraldo Perdomo (2) and Ketel Marte after hitting a three run home run in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

How D-backs Can Return to Postseason in 2026

Originally posted on Arizona Diamondbacks on SI
By Jack Sommers | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Arizona Diamondbacks missed the Postseason for the second year in a row, disappointing fans and everyone associated with the team.

As the baseball world is focused on the World Series going on at the moment between the Blue Jays and Dodgers, the D-backs' front office is focused on how to get back to the Postseason.

The team has correctly identified pitching — both starting and relieving — as their biggest offseason need. Welcome to the club. That is the same need for at least 25 other teams. They also have depth issues at first base, left field, DH, and catcher if James McCann is not resigned.

As they go about addressing these issues, however, the first foundation for future success lies with their in house stars.

Diamondbacks' Core Four Must Stay Healthy, Continue to Excel

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Diamondbacks are blessed with a core of four outstanding position players in Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, and Gabriel Moreno.

In 2025 these four generated 80% (20 out of 25) of the team's position player aWAR (aWAR is the average of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs WAR).

Jack Sommers

Getting full, healthy, productive seasons out of each of them in 2026 will be the first foundational block upon which the team will need to build a playoff contender.

If one or more of these players misses significant time, or sees a steep drop in production, it will be extremely difficult to make up for with other moves.

Perdomo played through a hand injury the second half of the 2025 season, but only missed one game while putting up an MVP-caliber campaign. While it's not reasonable to expect an exact repeat, he'll need to show the breakout on offense (.851 OPS) has sticking power.

Carroll played through a chip fracture in his wrist to post a phenomenal power season with 80 extra-base hits and 305 total bases while upping his defense to Gold Glove-caliber levels. If he can level up his batting average and OBP (.259/.343) there is a possible MVP in his future.

Marte must avoid the soft tissue injuries (hamstring, groin, and back) that have plagued him on and off the last several years. He missed a month early in the season due to a hamstring injury and required frequent off days following his return. When healthy, he was enormously productive.

The D-backs' goal for Moreno has always been for him to start at least 100-110 games at catcher. But he's only started 93, 78, and 65 games behind the plate the past three years. He posted a career-best 115 OPS+ in 2025, upping his career OPS+ to 108.

In a perfect world, each of Carroll, Marte, and Moreno increase their games played while continuing to produce at the same level, and Perdomo manages to repeat his 2025 season.

More realistically, at the very least Arizona will require the same total production of around 20 WAR from these four, and hope that the depth options they develop from within or acquire from without can produce more than the five WAR they contributed in 2026.