Published for Diamondbacks fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 19, 2026
⚾ D-backs Fans — Bring the Desert Heat in 2027!
Three straight years of Game-160 heartbreak. Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabby Moreno have felt every one of them — and this roster is built to finally finish the job. Real fans don’t just watch it happen, they wear it. Grab a D-backs-style home jersey with your favorite star’s number and rep Chase Field everywhere you go.
The Club
The Arizona Diamondbacks are the desert’s team — born in 1998 as an expansion franchise and champions just four years later. They play at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, under the retractable roof, in Sedona red, black and sand. The trophy case holds one World Series title — 2001, the Luis Gonzalez walk-off single off Mariano Rivera in Game 7, still the most famous hit in franchise history. This is a club that reached the World Series again in 2023, that plays its best baseball when nobody believes in it — and that has now missed October three straight years by the cruelest margins imaginable.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#7 Corbin Carroll — Style Home Jersey
The face of the franchise. Elite speed, a cannon arm, and the most dynamic swing in the desert — Carroll’s number is the future of Arizona baseball.
Last Season (2026): One Game Short, Again
86-76 — third in the NL West, 14 games behind the Dodgers, and one game out of the playoffs. Again. The Diamondbacks have now been alive until the final three days of the season four straight years: a World Series run in 2023, a tiebreaker heartbreak in 2024, elimination in Game 160 in 2025 — and this year, Game 162. Arizona ripped off a six-game winning streak to storm back into the race, briefly seized control of its own destiny in Game 161, then watched the Phillies beat the Rays 7-3 to clinch the final wild-card spot while the D-backs were losing 9-4 in San Diego. The hole was dug earlier: back-to-back home series losses to the Rangers and Marlins on the last homestand, a rotation gutted by injuries, and a lineup that finished dead last in baseball in production on pulled fly balls. Ten games over .500, better than the AL’s No. 2 seed — and home for October.
Best Players Right Now (2027 Roster)
Corbin Carroll, 26, Right Field (#7) — The face of the franchise. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year remains the most dynamic all-around talent in the desert — elite speed, a cannon arm, and a swing that tantalized even in a down year.
Ketel Marte, 33, Second Base (#4) — The enigma. A .249/.316/.432 line with 22 homers was well below his MVP-level standard, and an unexcused absence in Boston — his second no-show in two seasons — hung over the second half. The talent is undeniable; 2027 is about everything else.
Geraldo Perdomo, 26, Shortstop (#2) — The quiet star. A Gold Glove-calibre shortstop and on-base machine who keeps getting better — the steadiest everyday player on the roster.
Nolan Arenado, 35, Third Base (#28) — The renaissance. Thirty home runs in his first desert season, vintage defense at the hot corner, and exactly the veteran presence a young clubhouse needed.
Gabriel Moreno, 26, Catcher (#14) — The MVP. No debate in the clubhouse: Moreno was Arizona’s best and most valuable player in 2026, and his looming arbitration raise is the winter’s biggest subplot.
Lars Nootbaar, 29, Left Field (#21) — The midseason fix. Acquired to add left-handed thump against right-handed pitching — the lineup’s glaring weakness — and immediately became a fixture.
Pavin Smith, 30, First Base (#26) — The stopgap. First base was the least productive position in baseball (.636 OPS, dead last by nearly 30 points), and upgrading it is job one this winter.
Jordan Lawlar, 24, Infielder (#10) — The future. The former top prospect’s bat is still catching up to his glove, but the tools that made him a top-10 prospect are all still there.
Eduardo Rodríguez, 33, Starting Pitcher (#57) — The overachiever. Delivered 3.1 fWAR against modest expectations and anchored a rotation that desperately needed stability.
Corbin Burnes, 31, Starting Pitcher (#39) — The ace on paper. Frontline stuff and a Cy Young pedigree; the D-backs need the 2027 version to look like the ace they paid for.
Brandon Pfaadt, 28, Starting Pitcher (#32) — The workhorse. Took the ball every fifth day and kept Arizona in games — the rotation’s most reliable arm.
Merrill Kelly, 38, Starting Pitcher (#29) — The veteran. A down year by his standards, but his track record buys patience — and the clubhouse still runs through him.
Justin Martínez, 25, Reliever (#63) — The flamethrower returns. Back from a second Tommy John surgery touching 101.8 mph in September with the third-best stuff+ among all relievers. If the command holds, he’s the closer of the future.
Manager: Torey Lovullo — Year 11. His contract expired after Game 162, the Mariners came sniffing around, and the D-backs re-signed him for two more years anyway. The third-longest tenured skipper in baseball isn’t going anywhere.
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Star Spotlight: Stories You Should Know
Game 162, again. September 27, 2026, Petco Park: the Diamondbacks needed a win and a Phillies loss. Philadelphia jumped ahead 4-0 in two innings and never looked back, beating Tampa Bay 7-3 to clinch while Arizona fell 9-4. One week earlier, FanGraphs gave the D-backs a 5.3 percent chance. They nearly pulled off the impossible — then lived the same nightmare as 2024, when a tiebreaker kept them out. In this division, 86 wins gets you a tee time.
The Marte situation. Ketel Marte’s season unraveled off the field as much as on it. An unexcused absence in Boston landed him on the restricted list — the second no-show in as many seasons — before a knee injury moved him to the IL. His chase rate spiked, his second-half production cratered, and the drama followed him for weeks. He has four guaranteed years left on his deal. What the Diamondbacks do with their highest-paid player this winter is the story of the offseason.
Gaby was the MVP — and everyone knows it. While the big three of Carroll, Marte and Perdomo combined for less win probability added than relievers Juan Morillo, Brandyn Garcia and Justin Martínez, Gabriel Moreno just hit. Every day, every big spot. The front office declined to extend him last winter and will pay dearly for it now, with a massive arbitration bump coming. Locking up your homegrown catcher is never the wrong move — and this winter, it’s the obvious one.
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Next Season (2027): Finish the Job
The core is all coming back — Carroll, Perdomo, Moreno, Arenado, Lawlar — and the on-paper rotation of Rodríguez, Burnes, Pfaadt and Kelly, plus a possible Michael Soroka reunion, is as deep as any in the National League. The late-game bullpen trio of Morillo, Garcia and Martínez all return after dragging the relief corps from 30th to 5th in win probability added. GM Mike Hazen has named the shopping list plainly: get more left-handed — the D-backs were helpless against right-handed pitching — and fix the black hole at DH and first base, the least productive in baseball. Do that, and 86 wins becomes 92. One cloud over everything: the collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, and a lockout could delay the whole thing. But if baseball starts on time March 25, this is a playoff roster that just needs its final two pieces.
Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Games to Watch
Wondering when the Diamondbacks play? The Diamondbacks schedule for 2027 is out — and it opens with a California gut-check. Grab your Diamondbacks tickets early for these:
- March 25 — at San Diego Padres (Opening Day, Petco Park): All 30 teams play on Opening Day, and the D-backs open with four in San Diego against the team that finished 91-71. Immediate measuring stick.
- April 2-4 — vs Miami Marlins (home opener, Chase Field): The roof opens on the home schedule. After last year’s late collapse against these same Marlins, payback is on the menu.
- April 5-7 — vs Los Angeles Dodgers (Chase Field): The first home look at the division kings. If 2027 is going anywhere, it starts by beating LA at home.
- April 9-11 — at New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium): A weekend in the Bronx against the AL East giants — the 2001 World Series rematch never gets old.
- May 28-30 — at Milwaukee Brewers: A trip to see the defending National League champions — the team that ended the senior circuit’s October. The standard, up close.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. Los Angeles Dodgers — The mountain. Ninety-four wins, the division crown, the payroll, the stars. Everything Arizona wants to be runs through Chavez Ravine — and the D-backs get ten cracks at them to close 2027.
2. San Diego Padres — The wild-card war. They finished five games ahead of Arizona and took the top wild-card spot. Opening Day in San Diego sets the tone for a season-long fight.
3. San Francisco Giants — The division grind. The NL West has no nights off. The Giants are always in the way, and the second series of 2027 is at Oracle Park.
4. Philadelphia Phillies — The Game 162 debt. They took the last playoff spot while Arizona watched. The late-April trip to Citizens Bank Park is circled in red.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Diamondbacks last make the playoffs?
2023, when they won the NL pennant. They have missed October three straight years — 2024 on a tiebreaker, 2025 in Game 160, and 2026 on Game 162.
When the Diamondbacks play the Padres to open 2027, where is it?
March 25, 2027 at Petco Park — four games in San Diego against the 91-71 Padres, an immediate measuring stick.
Who are the best Diamondbacks players right now?
Gabriel Moreno, the clubhouse MVP; Corbin Carroll, the franchise’s most dynamic talent; and Nolan Arenado, who hit 30 homers in his first desert season.
What happened with Ketel Marte in 2026?
Marte was placed on the restricted list after an unexcused absence in Boston — his second no-show in two seasons — before a knee injury ended his year. He has four guaranteed years left on his deal.
Show Your Colors
Desert heat, Sedona red — at Chase Field or watching from home, true fans wear it. Gear up with quality fan sportswear — jerseys, tees and athletic wear built for real supporters:
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Sources & official links: Arizona Diamondbacks official site · Arizona Diamondbacks tickets
One game short, three years running — 2027 is the year the desert bites back.
