For the third October in a row, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been forced to watch their National League rivals have a postseason while they sit at home.

The Diamondbacks are not an untalented team that is a stranger to winning. They won the National League three years ago, and since then, they have posted winning records in two of three seasons despite missing the playoffs.

However, the National League landscape is very difficult, especially in the NL West, which Arizona occupies alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. This season, the Diamondbacks had a chance at getting in as a Wild Card team, but even an 86-76 record was not enough to elevate them to the playoffs.

So, what do the Diamondbacks need in 2027 to punch their ticket to October?

For Arizona, one key issue pertains to the results it is getting on the mound.

It was a rough season for Arizona’s pitchers, and except for left-handed All-Star Eduardo Rodriguez, there was not much to be confident about regarding the Diamondbacks’ arms.

Former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes was supposed to take the mound at some point close to the All-Star break after a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery, but after suffering a right teres major muscle strain in June, his return was pushed back to September.

Others, such as Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen, struggled all season. Kelly went 10-14 with a 4.94 ERA in 29 starts and 162 innings of work, which was a decline from his 2025 season, in which he went 12-9 with a 3.52 ERA during his time with Arizona and the Texas Rangers.

Gallen struggled with both health and performance issues. On July 12, he was placed on the 15-day Injured List for right elbow inflammation. 

On Aug. 3, he was transferred to the 60-Day IL for the same issue, and he did not make his return to the mound until Sept. 9. Gallen was limited to 22 appearances (20 starts) as a result, and he posted a dismal 3-9 record with a 6.07 ERA, which were the worst marks of his career.

The struggles of Kelly and Gallen were part of a bigger issue for the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff. Out of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, they finished 18th in ERA (4.18), 29th in strikeouts (1,140) and 21st in opponent batting average (.249).

If Arizona wants to improve, it needs to bolster its pitching. Sure, the return of Burnes and Rodriguez will help, but they cannot fix everything.

I know this might not seem like the answer, given that three of the four teams left in the playoffs are small-market teams with small-market payrolls, but Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick wants to trim payroll, and that may not be a good idea.

I am not saying Arizona should run back its roster or keep bad contracts, but it does not have the luxury of shipping off too many quality players for the sake of saving money. Its farm system is not good enough for that to happen.

In August, ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel provided farm system rankings for each of MLB’s 30 teams. The Milwaukee Brewers, who are in the National League Championship Series, came in first place. 

The Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the American League Championship Series, were tied with the Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles for the second-best farm system. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks’ system ranked 26th.

Arizona has had some quality players recently making their way to the big leagues, such as Ryan Waldschmidt and Tommy Troy, but it does not change the fact that their system is not close to that of the Brewers or the Rays. 

Those teams can afford to have lower payrolls because of the depth of the organization. Until Arizona achieves that, cutting roster costs may only hurt its playoff chances more.