Diamondbacks News
Gabriel Moreno wins award for best Venezuelan player in MLB this season by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno was named the 2026 recipient of the Luis Aparicio Award, given out annually to the best Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball.
The award is voted on by sports journalists in Venezuela, and Moreno received 65 out of 100 first-place votes. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo came in second, and D-backs pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez finished third.
“It is an honor to receive this award,” Moreno said in a press release. “Luis Aparicio is our legend, the first Hall of Famer we Venezuelans have in Cooperstown, and he means a lot to us.”
These D-backs have their eyes out for awards come November by Steve Gilbert [DBacks.com]
ALL-MLB TEAM
The Diamondbacks have six finalists for the All-MLB Team, including Moreno (catcher), Carroll (outfield), Perdomo (shortstop), Ketel Marte (second base), Nolan Arenado (third base) and Eduardo Rodriguez (starting pitcher).Of that group, the only ones who have been named to the All-MLB Team as Diamondbacks in the past are Carroll (2023) and Marte (’24, ’25).
Carroll was named as second team All-MLB in 2025.
Of all the candidates, Moreno seems to have the strongest case, as he finished second in OPS (.906) among MLB backstops with at least 400 plate appearances as a catcher, while finishing first among big league catchers with 6.7 bWAR.
The All-MLB Team, which was established in 2019, will be announced Nov. 11 during the fourth annual MLB Awards from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Why Brandon Pfaadt’s 2027 Could Be His Most Important Season Yet by Alex D’Agostino [SI]
2026 is the first time Pfaadt has extended his positive contributions into a lengthy stretch of dominance. His shift away from a strikeout-focused approach fell in line with Arizona’s overall pitching output, and it led to more sustainable success.
But now, Pfaadt is an important cog in a concerningly depth-lacking rotation. Eduardo Rodriguez’s ace-like 2026 season could regress. Nelson is a question mark due to health and underperformance in 2026. Merrill Kelly struggled in 2026 and Corbin Burnes looked brutal in his three post-injury appearances.
Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Jose Cabrera all struggled in their debut seasons. There aren’t many arms in the system worthy of stepping into a major league role if needed.
Around the League
With historic romp, unrelenting Crew just 1 win from 1st World Series title by Anthony Castrovince [MLB]
When the World Series shifted to St. Pete for Game 3 on Monday night, the Rays had faith that they had been beaten but not creamed in the Cream City, had belief that Freddy Peralta could shut down his old squad, had hope that they were one win away from reshaping the narrative of this Fall Classic.
Then came the eight-spot in a fifth inning that Peralta could not finish. Not just any eight-run outburst, but one that came entirely with two out.
The big inning that cemented the Brewers’ epic 10-1 victory and the one hit allowed in six scoreless innings from Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser made for the most extreme encapsulation yet of the way this team has demoralized opponents and made the postseason its personal playground on the increasingly likely path to a franchise-first title. Every Brewers starter reached base, eight of the nine drove in a run, and Jackson Chourio had four hits – one shy of tying the World Series single-game record – by the end of the fifth inning.
MLB tests out restricted OF shifts in effort to up offense [ESPN]
The Arizona Fall League has long been a testing ground for the next generation of MLB players, and lately, it’s also been a venue for testing potential rules changes.
This year, Major League Baseball’s newest experiment is to restrict the positioning of outfielders on every at-bat.
The goal is to boost the game’s sluggish offense by making outfielders play straight up — instead of adjusting for individual hitters’ tendencies — which will in theory lead to more doubles and triples.
The outfield positioning experiment is limited to just games that are played at Salt River Fields, since it has similar technology to MLB parks.
Arizona Fall League Midseason Check-In by Eric Longenhagen [FanGraphs]
The Best of the New Names
Joey Dixon, RHP, Houston Astros
Sam Horn, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Maddox Long, RHP, Detroit Tigers
Joe Ariola, LHP, Arizona DiamondbacksDixon missed multiple years recovering from Tommy John surgery and then most of 2026 dealing with a shoulder issue, and even when he pitched he wasn’t 100%. His velo is back and I’ve seen him parked at 94-97 while flashing bat-missing sliders and changeups. He’s smaller than most starters and his injury history points to the bullpen, but potentially as a multi-inning, platoon-neutral weapon. He’s getting added to The Board with a 40+ FV, the grade of a good bullpen’s third- or fourth-best guy. Sam Horn was a college quarterback at Missouri who missed time because of an elbow surgery and a fractured tibia. He rehabbed throughout 2026 and was active during Bridge League/Instructs, but I didn’t see him then because on the one day I knew he’d be pitching, Jackson Flora was making his uniformed debut for the Giants. In the AFL, Horn has been 93-96 with a plus slider and changeup. It’s a great starting point for someone who hasn’t pitched consistently since high school.
Long and Ariola look like standard middle relievers who could be ready fast. Long was at three different colleges across five seasons, then Indy ball. He’s 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, has a really loose delivery, a heavy low-90s sinker, and a plus slider that he commands with uncommon consistency. Ariola has a riding 93-94 mph fastball and hammer curveball, pretty standard lefty fare in the Caleb Thielbar mold.
Did Anyone Win The Caleb Durbin Trade? by Charlie Wright [MLB Trade Rumors]
The deal that sent infielder Caleb Durbin from the Brewers to the Red Sox seemed like a disaster for two months. By the end of the year, it looked like a season-saving maneuver.
Boston and Milwaukee executed the six-player swap in early February. Durbin joined the Red Sox after the club came up short in an attempt to replace third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency. Fellow infielders Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, plus a draft pick, also came over in the deal. The Brewers received infielder David Hamilton and lefties Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan.
