The D-backs’ bullpen has earned a lot of love this season, but the numbers say the conversation needs a reality check.
Yes, Arizona’s relief corps is better in 2026. It is not, though, the best bullpen in baseball, and it is not the best bullpen in franchise history.
Going into yesterday’s series finale in Kansas City, the group ranked 15th in ERA, 14th in FIP, 16th in xFIP and 14th in fWAR. That’s a solid step forward, especially after the team’s relievers ranked 24th in ERA, 27th in xERA, 25th in FIP and last in fWAR from 2017-2025.
But those are still middle-of-the-pack numbers, not elite ones.
That matters because the bar for the D-backs bullpen has been set so low for so long. The franchise has spent most of the 2020s getting burned by relief pitching, including a season that tied a franchise high with 28 blown saves.
Even last season, the only reason things didn’t look worse was the unexpected revival of Shelby Miller, who went from non-roster invitee in spring training to everyday closer by May. Against that backdrop, simple competence can feel like a breakthrough.
And that may be a big part of why fans are so high on this group.
The other reason is that the bullpen has been split into two very different units. The top end has been excellent.
Brandyn Garcia, Juan Morillo, Jonathan Loaisiga and Taylor Clarke have all thrown 40 or more innings with an ERA below 2.50, and no other team has four relievers in that bucket. The Padres are the only club with more than two, and half the league has had nobody reach that mark.
Arizona’s numbers are dragged down by the back end. The team has used ten true relievers with an ERA worse than 4.91 this year, and those ten have combined for 121.1 innings at a 7.21 ERA. So while the front of the bullpen has been sharp, the tail has been rough.
Health and workload management have also helped shape the story. Clarke, Morillo, Loaisiga and Kevin Ginkel are all over 60 appearances and on pace for 65-plus, yet the group has stayed intact enough to keep producing.
The Blue Jays are the only other team with four relievers above 60 games. Arizona has never had four pitchers appear in 65 games in a season.
It sure looks like the club adjusted after last year, when its three main closers all ended up with elbow surgery.
There’s also the simple fact that this bullpen has protected leads. Arizona is 66-0 when leading after eight innings, the only perfect mark in the National League.
If that holds over the final couple of weeks, it would be the first time the Diamondbacks have finished a season without a loss in that spot since 2011, when they went 84-0. The 2003 club, as noted, was also perfect when leading after eight.
The blown saves are still there, because that’s part of life with any relief staff. Arizona has 17, a big drop from 2025’s franchise record, and the team won nine of those games anyway.
Since June 21, there has been only one blown save that turned into a loss: Loaisiga against the Pirates on July 27. Tuesday in Kansas City was a good example of why the raw blown-save count can be misleading, since both Morillo and Blake Walston were charged with one and Arizona still got the win.
The strongest case for the bullpen’s reputation may be Win Probability. Arizona is at +818% for the season, second in baseball behind the Braves at +1088%.
That is the best mark for the D-backs since 2007’s +913%, and with 16 games left, there’s still a chance to chase that down. It also represents a massive swing from last year’s -404%, and by that measure alone, this has been the biggest bullpen turnaround in franchise history.
That does not mean the winter is quiet. Kevin Ginkel, Loaisiga and Clarke are all headed for free agency, so Mike Hazen still has real work ahead. But Morillo, Garcia and Justin Martinez give the organization something it has not always had: a foundation.
Whether Hazen has finally found the right formula, or whether reliever volatility simply tilted Arizona’s way this year, is a question for later. For now, the bullpen has been good enough to matter. It just hasn’t been as untouchable as some fans want to believe.
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