Diamondbacks searching for answers at 1st base: ‘We have to,’ Derrick Hall says

Frustrated Arizona Diamondbacks fans have been watching for any signs of life from first baseman and designated hitter Pavin Smith. More sadistically, they’ve been looking for signs of movement from his career Wins Above Replacement.

Because Smith’s 1,430 at-bats had produced a WAR that ticked down from 0.1 to 0.0 by the end of his team’s loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, it gave a more punchy argument that Arizona needs to do something about its first-base problem that is not Smith’s body of work alone.

The television broadcast on Wednesday flashed a graphic that said Arizona’s combined OPS from its first basemen was on pace to be the worst in baseball for any team since 1920.

Diamondbacks making history with Pavin Smith🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/XYX3nNQDA2

— Bo (@BMaster30) July 9, 2026

Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall knows the team has to find answers.

“We have to,” Hall told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday. “I think Pavin would tell you he’s struggled. … We’ve got to find different results. Not just there, everywhere.”

Let’s stick with first base for a minute.

The Diamondbacks finished the evening with a .554 OPS for their first basemen across 2026, well below Cleveland’s next-worst at .635.

Ildemaro Vargas, who has assumed most of the time at first (181 plate appearances), has cooled off tremendously after a hot start to the season. He recorded a white-hot April (.372 average) that led to a down-to-earth May (.227) and even worse June (.100).

The context gets worse looking at first base only.

Vargas is batting just .237 with a .633 OPS while playing first base (46 games) compared to .288 and .795 while posted at second in exactly half the time (23).

Smith’s struggles this year are well-chronicled. He’s slashing .140/.189/.220 in 16 games at first base and the numbers aren’t much better in 11 more as DH.

Jose Fernandez (sent down after 55 games), LuJames Groover (15 games in his first MLB stint) and veteran Carlos Santana (designated for assignment after injury) haven’t given the position much oomph, either.

Is Torey Lovullo’s job at risk as the Diamondbacks flounder?

As Hall said, first base is not the only glaring hole in the roster.

Arizona’s .577 collective OPS in center field is second-worst in MLB, and its designated hitters’ .614 come in at third-worst. Left field has the fifth-worst OPS at .660.

That’s before getting to the sometimes sloppy defensive play or the pitching, which together has put Arizona in an all-too-familiar place near the trade deadline.

Hall was asked about manager Torey Lovullo’s job status, and the president and CEO would only go as far as saying it was uncomfortable he was having the same conversation at this point in the year that he has the past three seasons.

“The last couple of games have been very sloppy,” Hall said. “Last night was unacceptable. And I’ve used that term a couple times with you guys this year. It’s unacceptable that I’m using ‘unacceptable.’

“I remember in ’23 we were having this same conversation (about Lovullo) and the questions were the same. And we got hot and turned it around,” Hall added. “It’s good and bad that we’ve played very similarly, each of the last three years. … You don’t want to be just a mediocre .500 team. This is a payroll and a roster that we’ve really committed to.”

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