The 3 Biggest Steals of Diamondbacks' 2026 Season

The Diamondbacks snagged McCann from the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A club in 2025, and prioritized re-signing him early in the offseason ahead of 2026.

Arizona got McCann back on a one-year deal worth only $2.75 million, but received quality output and a steady veteran presence, both behind home plate and in the locker room.

McCann slashed .282/.311/.455 with seven homers for a .766 OPS in just 166 plate appearances. It was his best offensive season by those figures since 2020 with the Chicago White Sox.

Not only was McCann a quality batter, he worked well with Arizona's resurgent pitching staff and allowed the team to give Gabriel Moreno plenty of DH days. Moreno played a career-high 130 games as a result and won the National League batting title.

For less than $3 million, McCann was worth every penny, and could be a re-sign candidate for another lower-cost deal in the late stages of a sturdy career.

2: Diamondbacks 3B Nolan Arenado

The Diamondbacks traded for future hall of fame third baseman Nolan Arenado ahead of 2026.

Coming off back-to-back down seasons, Arenado only cost the D-backs pitching prospect Jack Martinez, who pitched to a 4.61 ERA in 2026 between Low-A and High-A in the St. Louis organization.

The Cardinals also ate a hefty portion of Arenado's salary. Arizona was only responsible for $5 million and will only owe him $6 million in 2026.

All they got out of Arenado was a team-leading 30 homers, a .255/.331/.475 slash and an .806 OPS that was Arenado's highest since 2022. All of this came alongside strong third base defense from the platinum glover.

3: Diamondbacks RHP Michael Soroka

Quality starting pitching tends to come with a large price tag. This one didn't.

Arizona signed Michael Soroka to a one-year deal worth $7.5 million, up to $9.5 million. They got production that came close to Eduardo Rodriguez's level of dominance, albeit with some injury breaks in the middle.

Soroka pitched to a 3.41 ERA over 116 innings this season — his best ERA since his rookie All-Star season in 2019. He struck out 114 batters and walked only 29, picking up nine wins in 21 starts.

The injury bug did limit that production to a certain degree, but when he was healthy, Soroka was an extremely high-value arm for undere $10 million. He expressed a desire to return, as well, though whether or not that is a realistic possibility remains to be seen.