Despite having the best offensive season by a shortstop in Diamondbacks history, Geraldo Perdomo came away from 2025 with something of a bad taste in his mouth. His defense was not up to his standards — and he vowed this week to be better.
“For me, it was a disgusting season,” Perdomo said. “Even if I was hitting good, it was something that didn’t make me proud.”
Defense has been a regular topic during the early days of Diamondbacks camp, which began Feb. 10 at Salt River Fields.
For stretches last season, the club played sloppily in the field, further handicapping a battered pitching staff.
Over the winter the front office targeted defensive-minded upgrades — and both Perdomo and manager Torey Lovullo sound determined to make sure this season unfolds differently.
New third baseman Nolan Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove winner. Free-agent addition Carlos Santana won one of his own at first base. They now flank Perdomo and second baseman Ketel Marte on an infield that could be one of the better defensive units in the league.
Arizona Diamondbacks' Nolan Arenado pauses during batting practice workouts during spring training, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Scottsdale.
“Mike did a great job of bringing in some really good, athletic defenders,” Lovullo said of general manager Mike Hazen. “And we’re going to be very good this year.”
Said Perdomo: “I think the defense is going to be special this year. I feel like we made a lot of mistakes last year, including myself. I feel this year is going to be way, way different with those two guys.”
Though some of his advanced defensive metrics viewed his 2025 season in a positive light, Perdomo saw things differently. He made too many mistakes, too many errors.
“I just am putting more focus on my defense than last year,” Perdomo said. “I have to push myself. I have to push myself to be proud. Always my defense has been a part of my game. It’s not right — it’s not fair to the team that I performed that way on defense. I know this year is going to be different.”
Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (2) during spring training workouts on Feb. 10, 2026, at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale.
When Perdomo’s comments were relayed to Lovullo, the manager’s eyes lit up.
“That makes me happy,” Lovullo said. “He’s accountable. He should be. I know it bothered him. It bothered me. It got to the point where it probably tested my relationship with him because I was on him so hard about tightening that up.”
Arenado might no longer be the best defender in the majors, but he has been firmly above average in each of the past three seasons. As for Santana, he has the second-highest fielding run value, per Baseball Savant, among first basemen since the start of 2023, trailing only former Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.
Though the club made only modest additions to the pitching staff, it seems to be banking on a stronger defense helping offset that.
“We really wanted to solidify the corners for this team moving forward,” Hazen said. “From a run-prevention standpoint, that's been the reason the last two years we haven't made the playoffs. We wanted to make sure that that wasn't the case going into this year.”
Lovullo says the plan this spring is to put players through more drills at game speed in hopes of playing sharp to open the year. That was an issue in the early weeks of last season.
Arizona Diamondbacks' Carlos Santana walks with a bat after taking batting practice during spring training, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Scottsdale.
“I think we're going to ramp up some of the intensity with some of the drill work from a defensive standpoint, specifically,” Lovullo said. “I can't ask the pitchers to do any more. I'm watching. Things are coming out hot.
"Things are looking really, really good, but from a defensive standpoint, I want to be a little bit more ready than we were last year.”
