Diamondbacks' 86-Win Season Ends Short of Playoffs Despite Notable Surprises

Arizona stayed alive until the final day but missed the postseason at 86 wins, with the bullpen, Gabriel Moreno and Nolan Arenado among the year's biggest surprises.

The Arizona Diamondbacks entered the final day of the 2026 season with their playoff hopes still technically intact. Those hopes lasted roughly five innings before elimination became official, closing a year that finished with 86 wins and no postseason berth. For the third consecutive season, Arizona was knocked out in its final series, with the San Diego Padres again doing the eliminating.

Few expected the Diamondbacks to get even that far. Uncertainty surrounded the roster over the winter, and several key players opened the year on the injured list. Along the way, the club produced its share of pleasant surprises, as well as disappointment in areas that had seemed near-certain strengths.

The bullpen became Arizona's most surprising strength. After ranking among the bottom five in relief ERA for two straight seasons, the unit finished 16th in baseball at 4.07 — a climb of 11 spots and an improvement of 75 points — despite only minor offseason additions. Five regularly contributing relievers posted ERAs below 3.00, and by Win Probability Added the group ranked fourth in the majors at +8.24. Arizona also moved on from closer Paul Sewald and adopted a committee approach in the late innings.

The turnaround drew attention outside the clubhouse. Destiny Lugardo, a BBWAA writer covering the Philadelphia Phillies, noted on X/Twitter in the season's final days that both teams were headed for a bullpen game, adding that "the only difference is that the Diamondbacks have a better bullpen."

Catcher Gabriel Moreno supplied the biggest individual breakthrough. He set career highs in nearly every offensive category, slashing .311/.388/.486 with an .874 OPS, 16 home runs, 33 doubles, 83 RBIs and 61 walks. Moreno narrowly edged Philadelphia's Luis Arraez for the National League batting title, becoming the first player in franchise history to win it.

"It means a lot for me and to my family," Moreno said. "I worked really hard during the season. … I just feel like I was seeing the ball really good. … I think the credit is for the hitting coach." A hamstring injury ended his year on the bench, but he still appeared in a career-high 130 games.

Nolan Arenado, acquired in an offseason trade, was brought in chiefly to stabilize the infield defense. The 10-time Gold Glove winner did that, though his offense was the greater shock. After back-to-back poor seasons in St. Louis that produced OPS marks of .719 and .666 and no 20-homer campaign, the 35-year-old rebounded slowly from a rough start to hit .255/.331/.475 with an .806 OPS across 152 games, recording the eighth 30-home-run season of his career. He also emerged as a veteran leader on a relatively young roster and remains under contract for $6 million in 2027.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez provided another unexpected development. His four-year, $80 million contract had looked like one of the worst investments in franchise history after consecutive seasons with ERAs above 5.00, but his 2026 began with a championship-winning start for Team Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic.