A fast start in San Diego didn’t last long for the Diamondbacks, and the fan reaction made clear where the frustration is landing. After Arizona opened the series with an easy 8-0 win, Tuesday turned when Zac Gallen gave up a three-run home run in the first inning. Wednesday brought another rough night across the board, with the pitching, defense and offense all stumbling.
That backdrop helped frame this week’s SB Nation Reacts question: which position is the biggest problem for Arizona right now? The answer came down to a tight race between two trouble spots, with first base and Gallen drawing 86% of the votes combined and Gallen edging out first base by a sliver.
There’s a reason both drew so much attention. Gallen’s season has spiraled to -1.6 bWAR, the worst mark by an Arizona pitcher since Chad Qualls decide to speed-run sucking in 2010, racking up -2.2 bWAR in only 38 innings (the amazing thing is, Qualls played seven more seasons in the majors).
No previous qualified starter in D-backs history had posted an ERA+ as low as 80, and Brandon Pfaadt’s 81 last year had stood as the low-water mark. Gallen is sitting at 68, and fans have started to brace themselves for every outing.
First base has been just as bleak, if not more historically strange. Arizona’s OPS from the position is now the lowest in more than a century.
Since this was first raised on June 18, the number has slipped another seven points to .554. That puts the 2026 D-backs below the 1920 Pirates (.557), and in the live-ball era they’re ahead of only the 1920 A’s (.530).
Even that comparison comes with a catch: the MLB-wide OPS at first base in 1920 was .734, which is 46 points lower than the 2026 mark of .780.
Pavin Smith has been part of the picture, but not the whole story. He has accounted for only 14% of the plate appearances at first, which is why the issue goes beyond one player. Over the last two months, Jose Fernandez, Ildemaro Vargas and Pavin Smith - the three most-used first basemen this season - have all posted OPS figures beginning with a “4”.
And that leaves Arizona with a problem that doesn’t look easy to solve. Torey more or less has to keep sending Gallen out every fifth day because the alternatives are so thin, especially with Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson out and Corbin Burnes not coming back any time soon.
First base is no cleaner. As Jack said, there is absolutely no clue who will be manning the position for Arizona in 2027.
In Other News...
Ketel Marte Just Sent Diamondbacks Fans Into Panic Mode
Ketel Martes social media activity sent a jolt through Diamondbacks circles this week, after the veteran infielder removed Arizona-related content from his Instagram and unfollowed the team account. For a player who has been one of the clubs most important pieces, any sign of distance tends to get noticed fast, and this one was enough to set off a wave of fan speculation about what it might mean.
Marte has not commented, and neither has the team, leaving the situation to simmer without a public explanation. The intrigue is heightened by the fact that Marte holds 10-and-5 rights, giving him full control over any trade involving him, so even the possibility of movement would require his approval before anything could happen. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks May Have Quietly Avoided A Trade Deadline Gut Punch
The trade deadline can expose just how much a front office is willing to part with, and in this case the Diamondbacks may have come away without paying the kind of price that would have stung. Boston sent Connelly Early to Washington instead, with reports indicating the Red Sox passed on Arizonas interest and ultimately took Curtis Mead in the deal, a choice that suggests they preferred a more established return over whatever the Diamondbacks had on the table.
For Arizona, the real intrigue is what might have been asked for behind the scenes, especially with young bat Ryan Waldschmidt viewed as the sort of prospect another club would covet in a deal for a pitcher like Early. Whether he was ever truly in those conversations is less clear, but the fact that the Red Sox went another direction leaves the Diamondbacks with a small deadline win: they may have sidestepped a painful subtraction without having to test just how far Boston was willing to push them. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Just Got Pushed Back Into A Familiar Deadline Reality
The Diamondbacks keep finding themselves back in the same place as the deadline gets closer: trying to sort out whether the current pitching mix is sturdy enough for the stretch run. A loss to the Nationals only sharpened that concern, with rookie lefties Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake both taking the ball in consecutive games and both running into trouble. Manager Torey Lovullo has already pointed to the importance of handling critical moments, especially when an offense has just given you a lead or a chance to settle things down.
Geraldo Perdomo has also been speaking openly about the need for a pitching upgrade, which only adds to the sense that Arizona is weighing more than one path as it looks ahead. The club is still evaluating its options, and while there are other fronts to monitor, the rotation question has become hard to ignore. For a team trying to stay in the race, the next move may say as much about its belief in the present as it does about the deadline itself. [Read more 🡒]