The 2025 Diamondbacks’ legacy will be defined by sadness, sloppiness and softness

The 2025 Diamondbacks will leave a sad legacy. They are the team that died at the deadline.

They will not hang a banner. They were forced to waive the white flag.

In sum, the Diamondbacks traded away Eugenio Suarez, Merrill Kelly, Josh Naylor, Randal Grichuk, Jordan Montgomery and Shelby Miller. The concession is heavy, and so are the hearts. And for a good chunk of the fan base, the retention of the untradeable Zac Gallen is no consolation prize.

Suarez and his great vibes became one of the more popular players in team history, especially among the casual fans, the ones you need if you’re going to make a splash in this fickle market. Kelly is a playoff hero and a homegrown assassin with a great backstory. It’s a lot to lose for a haul of plug-and-play prospects, young players with very little name recognition.

“We’ve got to go back now, get the pressure off our back, get the weight of the world off our shoulders … and we just have to rediscover who we are,” said team president and CEO Derrick Hall.

The whiplash is severe. In Spring Training, the Diamondbacks were rated among the top five teams in the sport. Their owner had stunned the baseball community by splurging on Corbin Burnes. Everybody in uniform seemed so confident, with zero fear of the Dodgers. And then the games began.

Injuries are the foundation of their downfall, but this team was never right. They came out of the Cactus League unprepared to play crisp baseball. Their defense was like a teenager’s room, perpetually sloppy. Their offense was inconsistent in the most condemning ways.

In 2023, the Diamondbacks’ approach became the talk of baseball, a team feared for the chaos they created on the basepaths. In 2024, the Diamondbacks added a strong infusion of slug, some of it unexpected (Joc Pederson). They hit the fifth most home runs in the sport (211). And slowly their identity began to change (suffer).

Despite gaudy numbers, the 2025 Diamondbacks had little offensive identity. They specialized in fast starts and long naps. They excelled at leaving runners on base. The trials of a looming trade deadline undoubtedly took a toll, especially in a clubhouse where a handful of starters knew they would be moving on. But that’s also the business, and this team has shown a lot of softness prior to the trade deadline, be it squandering momentum and chances to win/sweep series. By the deadline, they had morphed into something awful and unrecognizable. They were not a good mix, and certainly not for this manager.

It’s been a bad year for Torey Lovullo. He’s pushed all the wrong buttons, enabling and coddling, a manager struggling to find solutions. A chunk of the fan base is clamoring for a new boss, a new voice after nine years. Is he the next to go?

I’m guessing that largely depends on what vibe Lovullo can create in the final 53 games while managing impressionable prospects who will listen to his message. Hall noted how the magical World Series team in 2023 was spawned by all the playing time prized prospects received at the end of the 2022 season when the Diamondbacks lost 88 games.

So: Will we get more zombie baseball? Or will we watch the baby steps of our next great baseball underdog, a team built for atonement in 2026? Lovullo’s job likely depends on the answer.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

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Derrick Hall: D-backs must 'rediscover who we are' after trade deadline selloffDiamondbacks hold onto starting pitcher Zac Gallen at trade deadlineDiamondbacks trade Shelby Miller, Jordan Montgomery to BrewersDiamondbacks trade longtime starter Merrill Kelly to Texas RangersDiamondbacks trade star 3B Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle MarinersDiamondbacks trade Randal Grichuk to Royals in middle of game vs. PiratesDiamondbacks trade Josh Naylor to Seattle Mariners for 2 pitching prospects