The Arizona Diamondbacks are still hanging around the postseason race, but the road ahead looks steep. For them to get in, it would take a major stumble from the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres or Chicago Cubs. If that doesn’t happen, this season will land with a thud, especially with Corbin Carroll, Nolan Arenado and others turning in strong performances.
Even with that uncertainty, there’s already a reason for Diamondbacks fans to keep an eye on 2027: Corbin Burnes.
As Grant Brisbee of The Athletic put it, "One reason to believe in next year: Corbin Burnes," Brisbee writes. "... Burnes will get that out of the way now and in the offseason, and when he comes back, it'll be for a team that desperately needs him, which was the plan in the first place."
Burnes is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and has now been out for well over a season. He is expected to return late in the year in September, which should give him a chance to knock off rust before the offseason and reset for 2027.
That matters because Arizona’s rotation has not held up the way it needed to. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have both regressed significantly, making Burnes’ eventual return even more important.
His first three outings back haven’t gone smoothly - he has a 7.84 ERA - but that comes with the territory after a long rehab from Tommy John surgery. It’s not the kind of line that tells the whole story, and it’s not something Diamondbacks fans need to panic about.
If Burnes gets back to form next season, Arizona could have a very different-looking rotation in 2027. A group led by Burnes and Eduardo Rodriguez, with Michael Soroko and Brandon Pfaadt also in the mix, gives the Diamondbacks a foundation that could support a much more serious postseason push than the one they’re making now.
2026 may end up being a disappointment. But Burnes’ return is the kind of thing that can make 2027 feel a lot more promising.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Offensive Frustration Looks Different In The Biggest Moments
The Diamondbacks have spent much of the season looking like a team that can do damage when the moment sharpens, and the numbers back it up. A huge share of their scoring has come with runners in scoring position, which is part of why this offense has been so dangerous even when it has not always looked smooth from inning to inning. The power is there, and in the biggest swings of the game, Arizona has often found a way to cash in.
What makes the profile more interesting is how uneven the production has been underneath that success. The clubs slugging in RISP spots has been strong, but the on-base work has lagged behind, which helps explain why some rallies feel more fragile than they should. Recent stretches from August into mid-September have shown the same push-and-pull, with Jos Fernndez, Corbin Carroll and Ryan Waldschmidt standing out for the way theyve driven the ball in those situations while the broader question of consistency still hangs over the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Dbacks Kept Their Season Alive But The Real Pressure Starts Now
The Diamondbacks did what they had to do against the Rockies, jumping on Colorado early with three runs in the first inning and then leaning on a steady night from Michael Soroka to keep the game from drifting away. Soroka worked seven innings, gave up one earned run and struck out nine, the kind of outing Arizona needed in a game with no margin for error.
Nolan Arenado tried to flip the script with a three-run homer in the seventh, his 28th of the season and his third hit of the night, but Arizona held on and kept its season breathing. Even with that win, the bigger issue now is not the box score from one night in Denver, it is whether the Diamondbacks can keep stacking clean innings and timely offense when the pressure only gets louder from here. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Face A Brutal Margin For Error In Playoff Chase
The Diamondbacks have reached the point of the season where every result around them matters almost as much as their own. Their path to the postseason is now tied to how they finish the rest of their schedule and to what the Phillies do in the final stretch, turning each night into a scoreboard-watching exercise as much as a baseball game.
Arizona also has a pivotal series ahead against the Rockies, and it looms as one of the biggest tests left in the chase. The combination of needing help elsewhere and taking care of business at home leaves the Diamondbacks with a narrow lane, which is exactly why this weekend could go a long way toward deciding whether their season keeps going. [Read more 🡒]