D-backs Have Made Substantial Investments in 2024 Roster

Thanks to the economic windfall of their World Series run, the team was able to invest a lot of money to bolster their roster.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) and owner Ken Kendrick celebrate after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

The Diamondbacks postseason run last year accomplished two things for the city of Phoenix. The first was creating an estimated economic windfall of $107.6 million for downtown Phoenix. It also showed the fan base was willing to support the club, as the team had their deepest postseason run in 22 years. Thanks to that windfall, D-backs Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick said the team was in a position to "make not insubstantial investments" in November.

With the season opening today, we can say that the D-backs have made substantial investments into their roster. They signed five free agents and traded for Eugenio Suárez to bolster a young core that shone in the postseason. One of those free agents was their own, as they re-signed fan-favorite Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to a three-year deal. In total, they've committed to spending $149.8 million in guaranteed contracts and added over $46 million to their 2024 payroll in the offseason. The team payroll currently sits around $150 million according to general manager Mike Hazen.

"Ken has consistently, Derrick [Hall] has consistently told us that when we were a good team and we were, that there was going to be the ability to invest," said Hazen. "He's always pushed us to go and be aggressive and this was a good opportunity for us to do that."

The spending has also been noticed by the players. Staff ace Zac Gallen spoke on that topic yesterday.

"For sure, it's gratifying in both senses," said Gallen. "It showed that we showed that we had a good product and we went out and did our job and we gave them something to invest in and feel like they could put some money into. Then at the same time, the ownership and front office held to their word that if we did give them a team that they felt was ready to succeed, ready to win now that they'd go out and spend some money and they held up their end of the bargain. So, on the reverse end now, we gotta go out and do our job and hold up our end of the bargain."

Coming off a season in which the D-backs saw their $30 million per year TV deal with Diamond Sports Group get terminated, there were concerns about payroll and how much the team would be able to add to a roster that made it to the World Series. To Kendrick's credit, he put his money where his mouth was and the D-backs are projected for a franchise-record payroll of around $175 million for the 2024 season once the reported Jordan Montgomery signing is made official. That shatters the previous record of $131 million in the 2018 season by over $40 million.

With the investments made on the roster, now it's up to the team to make good on them and punch their ticket into the 2024 postseason. The franchise has not made the postseason in back-to-back seasons since 2001-2002.