Arizona Diamondbacks: February confidence poll

January results

When we checked in for the first time in 2026, the team had actually done something to address the rotation. Though the biggest move there, was simply the return of Merrill Kelly, re-occupying the spot he had among our starting pitchers for much of last year. They had also added Michael Soroka, to fill the spot vacated by Zac Gallen’s (increasingly ill-advised, it appears) sojourn into the free-agent market. And that was more or it for the month, outside of the usual “minor-league contract with an invite to spring training”. You’ll not be surprised to learn, this did not do a great deal for confidence.

Consolidation is the name of the game here, with a strong surge to “6”. It’s the highest figure this category has received since November of 2022, and was more than double the percentage recorded at the start of December. This general agreement was fueled by voters almost equally from above (down ten percent, from 23% to 13%) and below (down eleven percent, from 58% to 47%). The overall impact was… uh, not much. A drop of just four-hundredths of a point, from 5.12 to 5.08 – the fourth month in a row it has been in the low fives. Below, you can see the breakdown for the past 12 polls’ results, followed by the line graph showing the trends over this and previous seasons.

February poll

The big move over the first month was the arrival of Nolan Arenado, which does seem to answer the question of third-base. We also learned that Ketel Marte is not going anywhere, Mike Hazen drawing a line under those trade conversations. But outside of that and the return of Taylor Clarke, that’s it. With little more than a week before pitcher and catchers report, the team hasn’t addressed first base, left field, or the lack of a clear closer. It looks increasingly likely that this is how the D-backs will enter 2025, and hope to get better through getting healthier, as Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez, Lourdes Gurriell and A.J. Puk return. How does that plan grab you?

That’s what the poll below would be for. You can explain your decision in the comments, especially if your vote has changed from last time. Link for mobile.