PHOENIX — Grab your peanuts and Cracker Jack! It's just about time to head out to the ballgame at Chase Field to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks defend their 2023 National League championship.
The D-backs will open their season on March 28 when they host the Colorado Rockies and ahead of Opening Day, 12Sports is taking a deeper look at the D-backs.
In our 'D-backs on Deck' special, which you can watch at the top of this story, you will hear from some of the D-backs' new players, and we check in with a D-backs insider to see just how formidable this roster will be. Plus, we go back to school for 'Baseball 101' with outfielder Alek Thomas and we hear from reigning Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll about his offseason and how he really didn't take any time off.
And now, let's take a look at who fans will see at Chase Field this season.
Breaking down the D-backs 2024 roster
Manager Torey Lovullo is back for his eighth season leading the Snakes.
Lovullo will have one of the best lineups of his eight years on the field every day this season as he looks to improve on last year's 84-win regular season. Most of the players who led Arizona to the World Series last season are back for 2024. That includes catcher Gabriel Moreno, first baseman Christian Walker, second baseman Ketel Marte, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll. Backup infielders Jace Peterson and Emmanuel Rivera and backup outfielder Jake McCarthy are all also back for another year of baseball in the desert.
To bolster their lineup, the D-backs added third baseman Eugenio Suárez in a trade with the Seattle Mariners and signed free agents Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk, who are expected to split time as Arizona's designated hitter and will be backup outfielders. Grichuk could start the season on the injured list, as Lovullo said on March 25 that the team wants to give him more time to recover from right ankle surgery.
The pitching staff will be anchored by ace (and Cy Young contender) Zac Gallen, former Arizona State Sun Devil Merrill Kelly and right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, a younger pitcher who was a key piece of the D-backs' rotation during their 2023 playoff run. Righties Ryne Nelson and Bryce Jarvis and lefty Tommy Henry are also expected to be part of Arizona's starting rotation throughout the season.
The D-backs' top free agent signing of the offseason was left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who is expected to take the No. 3 spot in the rotation behind Gallen and Kelly, however, he will start the season on the injured list with a lat strain.
The D-backs were also bit by the injury bug in their bullpen just before Opening Day, as closer Paul Sewald will miss the first few weeks of the season with an oblique strain.
The D-backs also return relief pitchers Kevin Ginkel (a former Arizona Wildcat), Ryan Thompson, Kyle Nelson, Joe Mantiply, Scott McGough, Luis Frías and Miguel Castro as the bullpen looks to build off of a very strong playoff run.
Lovullo told reporters on March 25 that he has not decided who will take over as the team's closer while Sewald is sidelined.
What the team is saying ahead of Opening Day
While the D-backs won their first pennant in 22 seasons last year, the team knows many people around the nation may still doubt them and think that last year's playoff run was a fluke. However, they are determined to prove those doubters wrong.
"We’re gonna have a target on our back for sure," Gallen said. "I’m sure a lot of people across the league thought what we did last year was a fluke, so we need to prove it again that it’s not."
The team also knows that 84 wins may not be enough to make the playoffs in an NL West division that got much stronger this offseason. The Dodgers added one of the best players in the world, Shohei Ohtani, along with and Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Teoscar Hernández. The Giants signed reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and added third baseman Matt Chapman and South Korean slugger Jung Hoo Lee. The Padres traded for star pitcher Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox to a roster that already included second baseman Xander Bogaerts, shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and third baseman Manny Machado.
General manager Mike Hazen said making sure his roster improved, just like the rest of the division, was the major focus of this offseason.
"We have a lot of things to improve upon," Hazen said. "And I know I’m fixated on that and I’m pretty confident that the conversations that we’ve had in the clubhouse from Torey on down are fixated on that as well and I appreciate that because we didn’t accomplish the goal that we set out to accomplish."
Lovullo echoed that notion when speaking earlier in spring training.
"We’ve set a standard here and what that means to be an Arizona Diamondback and we want to raise that bar and move it north," Lovullo said. "So, we’re gonna talk about achieving that standard and working hard to get to that standard that we have set up. And we’re only going one way."
But this team is excited for what is ahead this season.
"I think everybody on this team’s just got a fire this year," reliever Ryan Thompson said. "Like, we are pumped up to be here."
Diamondbacks betting odds
As of March 25, the Diamondbacks are +4000 to win the 2024 World Series, according to DraftKings and FanDuel. That means if you bet $100 on them, you would profit $4,000.
They have +1800 odds to defend their NL title on FanDuel and +2200 odds on DraftKings. The D-backs have +900 odds to return to the NLCS for the second year in a row on FanDuel.
The D-backs are tied with the Padres for the second-best odds to win the NL West, at +1100, on FanDuel and are tied with the Giants for +1000 odds on DraftKings. The Dodgers are favored to win the division on both sites (-450 on DraftKings and -600 on FanDuel.)
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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