Diamondbacks avoid arbitration with Gabriel Moreno, Ryne Nelson

The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided arbitration ahead of Thursday’s deadline with all eight of their eligible players, including catcher Gabriel Moreno and starting pitcher Ryne Nelson.

Once players reach three years of major league service time, arbitration is used to determine salaries for the upcoming season unless the player and club agree to terms ahead of the deadline. This lasts until the player hits free agency.

The Diamondbacks do not have to go through this process with players who have signed long-term extensions, such as shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and outfielder Corbin Carroll.

Around the league, 18 players did not reach an agreement with their clubs, including two-time Cy Young-winning pitcher Tarik Skubal with the Detroit Tigers.

Here are the eight players with whom the D-backs avoided arbitration along with their reported salaries:

C Gabriel Moreno

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Moreno and the D-backs agreed at $2.55 million to avoid arbitration on Thursday, Francys Romero first reported.

Moreno continues to show his potential as a young franchise catcher.

He’s been an above average hitter, which is hard to find at catcher, and a strong defender. In three seasons with the D-backs, Moreno has a .278/.348/.754 slash line, 8.5 bWAR and a Gold Glove. He put up his best offensive season statistically last year with a .786 OPS, .285 batting average and nine home runs. His blocking, framing and pop time are all highly graded by defensive metrics.

There are a couple lingering questions. The first is his ability to stay healthy after hitting the injured list four times over the past three years. To be fair, he suffered a freak thumb fracture on a ball that skipped off the dirt in rainy Cincinnati last year, but it cost him more than two months.

His game-calling is another area of growth for him, as the D-backs gave more responsibilities to veteran James McCann down the stretch. McCann himself has said that it is a part of the game for catchers that simply takes times and experience to lock down.

Moreno will be just 26 years old in February. If the D-backs continue their trend of extending young players, Moreno is a logical candidate.

RHP Ryne Nelson

Nelson settled at $3 million.

Nelson was on the outside looking into the starting rotation given Arizona’s surplus going into last season, and yet he had arguably the best season from any Diamondbacks starter.

After he awkwardly bounced around bullpen roles early on, Nelson had to fill into the rotation due to injuries. And he picked up where he left off from a stellar second half of 2024.

Nelson made 23 starts with a 3.16 ERA.

His 3.20 ERA in starts since July 4, 2024, ranks 16th in Major League Baseball among 68 pitchers with at least 200 innings.

OF Alek Thomas

Thomas and the D-backs settled at $1.96 million, Mark Feinsand first reported.

After an injury-riddled 2024 season, Thomas remained healthy and played a career-high 143 games for the Diamondbacks in 2025. He has yet to break out offensively, going on periodic hot streaks but falling short of even mediocre final stats.

His .659 OPS in 2025 was a career high, but he was 18% worse than a league average hitter via OPS+ (82). A career-high strikeout rate, career-low walk rate and high percentage of batted balls rolled over to the right side were not characteristics of an impactful bat.

His defense picked up in the second half as he gained confidence after putting 2024’s hamstring issues behind him. He made a dazzling catch at the warning track to lock down a win over the Padres at Petco Park in July that signaled his turnaround.

Thomas is only 25 and is a former top-20 prospect in the league, but he has not performed well enough to guarantee that he is a building block for the D-backs moving forward.

RHP Ryan Thompson

Thompson and the D-backs reached a deal at $3.95 million, insider Ari Alexander first reported.

Thompson, like Ginkel and Puk, enters his final season under contract.

Thompson has made 128 appearances with the Diamondbacks since the club took a flier on him in 2023. The submariner was pivotal to Arizona’s playoff push and pennant win in 2023, and he’s remained a useful reliever since then. He had a really bad May last season that scarred his numbers, but from June 1-on he worked a 1.40 ERA, giving up three earned runs in 25 appearances.

OF Jake McCarthy

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

McCarthy settled at $1.525 million.

McCarthy was quite good in 2024, but his 2025 season started about as poorly as possible. He started the year 0-for-24 and was optioned before the end of April. Arizona recalled him in late June, and he put up a .674 OPS for the rest of the season.

It was a disappointing output for a player who brought so much to the table a year earlier (.749 OPS, 25 steals), as he finished with a -0.7 bWAR.

McCarthy plays all three outfield spots, has tremendous speed and plays with his hair on fire, so there are desirable traits for major league outfield depth if he can hit a little better going forward.

There is reporting that McCarthy and Thomas will be split up as left-handed, light-hitting outfielders, with one likely getting traded this offseason for pitching help.

1B Pavin Smith

Smith settled at $2.25 million.

Smith made his MLB debut for Arizona in 2020 and has another two years under team control left (2026-27).

He is coming off a bizarre season in which the final numbers look pretty good (.797 OPS) but lack context.

From September 2024 through the end of April 2025, Smith’s 1.085 OPS ranked second in all of baseball. He trailed Aaron Judge and finished ahead of Shohei Ohtani.

Starting from May 1, 2025, Smith hit .222 with a .662 OPS. His typically low strikeout rate ballooned to 32% last year, nearly eight points higher than his previous high.

Smith will be 30 years old by the start of next season, and the Diamondbacks do not have many other options at first base. Tyler Locklear will be on the IL to start the year, and Arizona filled the position with utility players down the stretch of last season.

RHP Kevin Ginkel

Ginkel settled at $2.725 million.

Ginkel became a breakout star for the bullpen in the second half of 2023 and the postseason. From 2022-24, he worked a 2.95 ERA in 162 appearances, building trust as a late-inning reliever with a wipeout slider.

His 2025 season went poorly right away, as he started on the IL with shoulder inflammation. He then allowed earned runs in nine of his first 18 games, including two five-run outings. His ERA was 1.69 over his final 11 appearances, but he missed the final two months of the year with a shoulder sprain.

LHP A.J. Puk

Puk settled at $3.1 million, as first reported by Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com.

How much of next season Puk pitches in is uncertain, considering he is rehabbing from an internal brace procedure in his throwing elbow.

But the Diamondbacks tendering him a contract signals that they see him coming back at some point.

With Arizona’s new salaries inputted, FanGraphs projected the club’s payroll at $167 million.

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