The Real Reason the Diamondbacks' Offense Has Been Shockingly Poor

The Arizona Diamondbacks have simply not looked like themselves at the plate for some time in the 2026 season. A club that came off back-to-back seasons of high-level offensive production did not make many alterations to their core roster, yet the at-bats have been poor, and the results have not been there, at all.

Arizona ranks 26th in team OPS this season (.683) after a top-five finish in that category in 2025. They've hit the sixth-fewest home runs (37) and are struggling to even extend at-bats beyond a handful of pitches.

In fact, they had seen 400 fewer pitches going into their recent series against the New York Mets than they had at that point a year ago. That is not a recipe for success at the plate, to say the least.

Manager Torey Lovullo, speaking with D-backs.TV's Jody Jackson on the postgame broadcast following a 7-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, spoke about what he thinks is going on with Arizona's hitting.

Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo on poor offense

Here's what Lovullo had to say on the state of the offense:

"I just think we're pull-side dominant. We're not patient at the plate. We're not driving up pitch counts," the manager said.

"We hit a few balls hard, but we're better than what we've been doing over the past 10, 12, 14 days. We've gotta see pitches, gotta be patient, have an all-field approach and, and just do what we can to have a very grinding, successful at-bat."

It's those very principles that served the D-backs so well in their recent seasons, so it's curious to see such a departure from that type of approach. But even after Lovullo called his offense into his office earlier this month, the at-bats still display a desperate, impatient feeling — as if players are trying to hit five-run homers with the bases empty, or raise their batting average by 50 points with one swing.

Lovullo did express confidence that his group would be able to figure it out. After all, with the exception of sluggers like Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor — who have both struggled this season with their new clubs — Arizona's lineup is largely similar to its more successful iterations.

"That's why I think we're going to be good at it again. It's the same group of guys, majority of the guys are here, that have done it for the past couple of years," Lovullo said.

"I know guys are still getting their timing. [Gabriel Moreno] and, and [Lourdes Gurriel Jr.] are still working hard to get up to speed, and it's coming for them.

"Other guys are just having grinding years right now. So when it gets moving in the right direction, we're going to start to start to play D-back type of baseball, especially at the plate."

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