The Arizona Diamondbacks head into the offseason with a clear question at first base: where does the power come from? The answer may already be in the system, tied to a group of young players whose 2026 performance and injuries will shape the 2027 roster.
Arizona’s offseason decisions will not be defined by one blockbuster move. Instead, it comes down to internal calls on power production, pitcher health, and bullpen turnover, all areas where the organization has promising data and real uncertainty heading into next season.
First Base Power Search Points To Manuel Pena
The Diamondbacks need power production at first base, and the organization’s clearest internal answer is infield prospect Manuel Pena. Pena hit 31 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2026, slashing .305/.345/.555 for a .900 OPS across those levels, according to Sports Illustrated.
The power numbers come with caveats. Pena posted a more modest .746 OPS in Triple-A Reno, a notoriously hitter-friendly environment, and struck out 119 times that season. Those are the two figures the Diamondbacks will weigh before handing him an everyday big-league job: can the power and contact rate hold up against major-league pitching, and will the strikeout total become a bigger issue at the next level?
Cristian Mena’s Health Is A Rotation Wild Card
Right-handed pitching prospect Cristian Mena represents one of the organization’s more unresolved situations. Mena lost his entire 2026 season to a shoulder injury after another shoulder injury during a rain-affected game in Cincinnati wiped out his 2025 season, per Sports Illustrated.
Before the injuries piled up, Mena showed real promise, allowing just one run in 6.2 innings during his 2025 debut. Scouts have praised his strong breaking ball and a mid-90s fastball. The Diamondbacks now face a decision point entering 2027: a pitcher with the stuff to help the rotation, but back-to-back seasons wiped out by the same type of injury. If he stays healthy, his spring training performance will determine whether he factors into the big-league staff at all next year.
Demetrio Crisantes Headlines A Deep Prospect Class
Demetrio Crisantes, a 22-year-old from Nogales, Arizona, is now the organization’s top-ranked prospect after a 2026 season in which he hit .292/.377/.477 for an .854 OPS across all levels. He posted a .961 OPS in Double-A, though his numbers cooled to a .755 OPS and a .278 average once he reached Reno.
Crisantes also missed most of 2025 with a shoulder injury, making his 2026 production a key health and performance checkpoint. The drop-off at the higher level mirrors Pena’s pattern, where Double-A success didn’t fully translate once the competition got tougher at Triple-A. The Diamondbacks will need to see that gap close before trusting either player with a full-time major league role.
Outfield Decisions Shaped By Waldschmidt’s Growth
Arizona’s outfield picture is clearer thanks to outfielder Waldschmidt’s development, selected with the pick the Diamondbacks received for Corbin Carroll’s 2023 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He was promoted to the majors on May 8 after opening 2026 at Triple-A Reno, sent back down, then returned for good on July 10. He hit two walk-off homers that helped keep Arizona in the NL Wild Card chase until the season’s final day.
An MLB.com assessment of Waldschmidt’s season noted his progress: “Defensively, I think the strides that we saw him make in center field were huge for us this season. Offensively, the strikeouts are obviously there in the big leagues, and we need to curb that moving into next season. But toward the end of the season, I think you saw him start to use the entire field a little more effectively,” according to MLB.com.
Waldschmidt figures to play a significant role in the Arizona outfield in 2027, though whether that comes in center or left field remains undetermined. His strikeout rate, which the team’s own evaluation flagged as a concern, is the clearest thing to track this spring.
Jose Fernandez Offers Infield Flexibility
Versatile infielder Jose Fernandez, who can play all four infield positions, gives the Diamondbacks another internal option as they sort out their 2027 roster. An evaluation of his game cited raw offensive upside: “Offensively, there’s a lot of ceiling. Just given how hard he can hit the baseball.
We feel like we can raise the floor with a little better approach,” according to MLB.com. That combination of defensive versatility and untapped offensive upside makes Fernandez a candidate for a multi-position role rather than a single starting job.
Bullpen Turnover Adds Another Layer
Several relievers are set to depart the Diamondbacks through free agency, though the sources do not specify which pitchers will leave. That departure wave puts more weight on internal arms like relief prospect Carrillo, who allowed 16 walks, one intentional, over 17 1/3 innings in 2026.
Carrillo’s raw stuff drew praise despite the control issues: “He has electric stuff. Upper 90s fastball, low-to-mid 90s cutter, a nasty split. We saw some inconsistencies with control.
When he got sent down, we worked through some things in his delivery to help him find the zone more frequently, and he really started to dial things in,” per MLB.com. A separate note on the organization’s young pitchers added perspective on his track: “Corbin is really the only one we’ve had that hasn’t had to go back for a reset. It’s pretty common for everyone else to have to. We saw improvements from all of our young guys when they came back.”
The Counterpoint: Triple-A Drop-Offs Are A Real Risk
The clearest challenge to an optimistic reading of Arizona’s prospect depth is the repeated pattern of production falling off at Reno. Both Pena and Crisantes posted strong numbers in Double-A, .900 OPS and .961 OPS respectively in their best stops, only to see those marks shrink considerably once they reached Triple-A, Pena to .746 and Crisantes to .755. If that trend continues against major-league pitching, questions about power and contact at first base and in the outfield could persist into 2027, regardless of how the offseason roster is constructed.
What To Watch Next
The Diamondbacks have not announced specific plans for free agency, trades, or spring training competitions, and no timeline for those decisions has been confirmed. The clearest items to track are Mena’s health status after consecutive lost seasons, whether Pena or Crisantes can sustain their upper-level numbers in big league camp, and how many bullpen jobs open up once Arizona’s pending free agent relievers officially depart.
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