The Diamondbacks Won 86 Games and Still Went Home — the Reckoning Won't Be Cheap

The Arizona Diamondbacks spent the final week of the 2026 season doing almost everything right, and it still wasn't enough. A 13-10 September, a three-game sweep of the Rockies, and an 11-4 blowout in San Diego had the Snakes alive into Game 162. Then the season ended in a 9-4 loss to the Padres on the final day, and for the third consecutive year, Arizona finished "close but no cigar," missing the postseason by a handful of games.

The final ledger is genuinely strange to look at. Arizona finished 86-76, a .531 winning percentage, with a run differential of plus-9 (739 scored, 730 allowed). That's a team that was, by the underlying numbers, roughly a .500 club that played slightly better than its components in the biggest spots — until it didn't. The margin between October and the golf course was a blown bullpen game and a pair of losses in the season's last weekend.

The Lovullo Question Is Now the Only Question

Torey Lovullo is the winningest manager in franchise history at 750-768 across a full decade — but he finished 2026 on a one-year contract, and he acknowledged Sunday that his future is uncertain. His own framing was blunt: he wants "to be wanted."

That's not a small thing for a roster that clearly still plays for him. Lovullo was the one consoling players after the final out. But three straight seasons of near-misses, with a mandate to actually reach October, puts Mike Hazen's front office in the position of deciding whether continuity or a new voice breaks the pattern. Either way, the decision lands in the next few weeks and shapes how aggressively Arizona attacks the winter.

Marte's Absence Wasn't Just a Distraction

The other storyline that defined the stretch run was Ketel Marte, who was away from the club for two weeks after an unexcused no-show before a game in Boston. He returned to boos, told reporters he "failed" Lovullo, and Lovullo declined to guarantee it wouldn't happen again.

Marte's production (.250/.316/.435, 22 homers, 75 RBI in 138 games) was down from his All-Star standard, and the drama cost the Diamondbacks their starting second baseman during a wild-card chase. Marte remains under contract in Arizona, which means the offseason conversation isn't just about the manager — it's about whether a star who has now gone AWOL more than once is part of the solution.

Burnes Is the Reason to Believe

If there's a genuine silver lining, it's that Corbin Burnes actually pitched in 2026. The former Cy Young winner returned in September after 15 months out — Tommy John surgery followed by a teres major strain — and threw three shutout innings in his debut against Kansas City.

The results were mixed after that: 0-0 with a 7.84 ERA over 10.1 innings across three starts, including five home runs allowed. But a healthy, full-season Burnes slots in front of Eduardo Rodriguez (16-7, 2.89 ERA, 189.2 innings) and turns a rotation that posted a 3.95 team ERA into a legitimate strength.

There are real building blocks here: Gabriel Moreno won the NL batting title at .308/.384/.486, Corbin Carroll supplied 22 homers and 21 steals, and the bullpen was quietly excellent at a 3.05 ERA with a 1.066 WHIP. The core is good enough to win 86 games again.

The question Arizona has to answer is whether "again" is the goal — or whether a third straight Game 162 heartbreak finally forces the change that gets them past it.