The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season has less than two weeks remaining, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are currently fighting for their playoff lives.

The Diamondbacks are still within the Wild Card picture, but they have not been able to close the gap recently with the San Diego Padres, who possess the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League that will be included in the postseason.

Given the tough situation Arizona finds itself in, it is worth wondering if a team with so much talent on paper could have avoided this situation. Recently, ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle put things into perspective.

With the season nearing its end, Doolittle released his annual exercise in which he identifies the biggest success and the biggest disappointment for all 30 MLB teams.

For the Diamondbacks, the biggest success lies in the performance of catcher Gabriel Moreno, according to Doolittle’s assessment. This makes sense as Moreno has been a star for Arizona this season both behind the plate and standing next to it with a bat in his hands.

Over 120 games this season, the 26-year-old has posted a .301 batting average, a .379 on-base percentage, a .467 slugging percentage and an .846 OPS. As Doolittle pointed out, Moreno has a chance to finish with a plus-.300 batting average. Among the qualified catchers, he is the only one sitting above that mark at the time of writing.

I will add an honorable mention to Doolittle’s list and place the play by Corbin Carroll in this category. Once again, Carroll has been a star for his team, and he is coming off a walk-off home run to lift the Diamondbacks over the Miami Marlins in a critical game down the stretch.

In a season where Arizona’s offense has had to carry much of the load to ensure wins, Carroll has shown up time and time again. Over 145 games, the 26-year-old has a slash line of .240/.331/.470 with an .801 OPS and 21 home runs.

Carroll’s presence is vital for this team, especially in a season where other players on the roster have regressed and his teammate and co-star, Ketel Marte, has dealt with injuries and personal troubles.

In Doolittle’s view, the biggest disappointment lies in the performances of many players. 

He points to the collapses of veterans such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who was a key contributor in Arizona’s 2023 season, in which it reached the World Series, but has declined rapidly since tearing his ACL during the 2025 season. Due to his struggles, Gurriel was designated for assignment on Sunday.

Ildemaro Vargas is another player Doolittle pointed to, as the 35-year-old veteran has had an up-and-down season at the plate. In June, Vargas posted a .100 batting average in 23 games, but he was able to bounce back with a .344 average and an .838 OPS in July.

However, Vargas' numbers came crashing down again in August, as he only hit .183 with a .529 OPS.

On the pitching side, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have struggled immensely, and Doolittle pointed to their underwhelming season as well. What Doolittle did not mention were the setbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes faced as well in his return from Tommy John surgery.

Burnes finally made his season debut on Sept. 8, and he struggled in his most recent outing against the Marlins on Monday. It is understandable why Burnes has not been the best version of himself, given that he had not pitched since June 2025, but if the Diamondbacks could have gotten him back earlier, it could have helped with the pitching woes.

All told, Arizona's season could have gone much better. However, it is not over yet, and the Diamondbacks control their fate.