Carroll on Burnes, D-backs' outlook: 'We're going to be in a pretty good spot'

The defending World Series-champion Dodgers have made the most headlines this offseason, fortifying an already stacked roster by adding multiple stars, including Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki.

But there’s another National League West team that has gotten significantly better to the point where it could challenge the Dodgers for the division crown in 2025.

The D-backs have added former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to a rotation that already featured talented veterans Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez. Arizona also acquired slugging first baseman Josh Naylor in a trade with Cleveland to replace Christian Walker, who joined the Astros. Naylor joins an already formidable lineup that includes Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Eugenio Suárez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Just a season removed from their own World Series run, the D-backs have produced palpable excitement heading into the new campaign.

Just ask Carroll, who was a guest on MLB Network Radio on Friday.

“I think it will benefit us having a lot of the same guys back,” the star outfielder said. “As long as we’re playing good defense, helping our pitchers out and playing with freedom on the offensive side of the ball, I think we’re going to be in a pretty good spot.”

? D-backs finalize six-year contract with new ace Corbin Burnes

For a club that won 89 games last season and has added one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the game to its roster, a “pretty good spot” might just turn out to be an understatement.

Carroll is thrilled with the Burnes acquisition, and not just because they share the same first name.

“I was super-excited with that,” Carroll said of the Burnes signing. “Obviously, we’ve seen him a ton [from his days with the Brewers], probably six times in my career to this point. I’m really happy that guy’s on our side. He’s just a really dominant pitcher, and the stuff speaks for itself.”

What also speaks for itself is Carroll’s dynamic all-around ability on the diamond. Though he got off to a slow start at the plate last year, he had a resurgent second half and is confident that going through those ups and downs will serve him well in the season ahead.

Prior to the All-Star break last year, Carroll -- the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year -- posted a .635 OPS with five home runs. But in the second half of the season, he posted a .919 OPS with 17 homers.

“It was the first year in my life that I started off the way that I did, just really slowly -- kind of seeing some numbers that were a little lower than I was used to,” he said. “Throughout the year, things got better -- not at a level where I expect of myself; I try to have higher standards for myself than anyone out there.

“I think that probably did wear on me mentally, and getting into the offseason and being able to put things in perspective and just kind of turn the page and look at things for how they really stood, I think that it’ll be good for me moving forward to have gone through those things.”

As Carroll and the D-backs turn the page to 2025, the goals are high and so is the potential. Although dethroning the Dodgers in the NL West will certainly be a tall task, they have an intriguing club with an eye on returning to the Fall Classic -- though this time with a different result after losing to the Rangers in ’23.

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