The Los Angeles Dodgers are known now as the “epicenter of baseball”—and, well, they certainly know how to put the epic in epicenter! As if last season’s spree of 1.18 billion was not enough, they went and spent another $465 million in free agent signings and contract extensions this offseason. You name it: from all-stars to Cy Young winners and MVPs—they have them all. A roster full of stars and the envy of so many teams.

Some have even gone and claimed that they might as well be crowned the 2025 winners as well. But for all the dominance talks and the glamour they have, the Dodgers have a division rival that isn’t buying into the hype. The Arizona Diamondbacks are not star struck. They are not scared, and they are not ready to back down. In fact, they have invested $369 million into their pitching staff. They have quietly bolstered up their lineup, and they have openly made their feelings known about the Dodgers.

Arizona Diamondbacks are ready for a showdown with LA

For years Arizona has watched LA dominate, but the Diamondbacks are also fresh off a WS appearance in 2023. And they want the taste of October bliss again- their aggressive off-season moves are proof. They signed Corbin Burnes for six years, $210 million, clearly a strong move. But challenging the Dodgers, who have a rotation that feels almost unfair on paper, isn’t going to be easy. And they know it.

The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and not to mention Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. But the Diamondbacks don’t care. Manager Torey Lovullo has a belief in his team, and he mentioned on USA Today, “Absolutely. I don’t want to sound arrogant or downplay what other organizations have. I couldn’t think of a better starting standpoint than the five or seven names we have that can go that deep.” And there is a reason he is confident.

Arizona Diamondbacks have Corbin Burnes, the 2021 Cy Young winner who also has finished among the top eight in Cy Young voting for five seasons. They have Zac Gallen, who finished third in Cy Young balloting two years back. There is also Merrill Kelly, who’s 30-13 the last three years. Then they have Eduardo Rodriguez, the former 19-game winner who led the Red Sox to their 2018 WS title. They also have Jordan Montgomery, the one who led the Texas Rangers in their 2023 title. The D-Backs have $369.8 million invested in their starting rotation. And it does look fire right now!

D-backs don’t need to beat Dodgers in 162 games—just when it really counts

The Los Angeles Dodgers will most likely win or can win the NL West. They might be the ones dominating the highlight reels and racking up triple-digit wins. But the Arizona Diamondbacks don’t need to match that; they just need to get to the postseason. And the last two seasons have shown everyone that anything can happen in October. In 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that barely made it into the playoffs, stormed the World Series. In 2023, the D-backs did the same. They can handle the pressure, and so players are confident they have a shot.

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Scott McGough mentioned, “Don’t get me wrong, we respect them, but I’ll match this staff up against anybody. It gives you a lot of confidence knowing that a lot of these guys have done it in the playoffs. They went toe-to-toe with those big teams and out-pitched them.”

Some are excited about how the front office of Arizona Diamondbacks went ahead to build a strong team. Gallen mentioned, “Look at this team. Fully healthy, you could easily put our rotation in the top 10 easily last year, and now we add someone like Corbin. For ownership and management to go out and spend the money and put a commitment to us, as a player, it just reinforced what you’re doing. We needed maybe another piece to get us over the hump, and then you get a guy with his caliber. Pretty cool.”

So Arizona Diamondbacks might not have a red carpet. But they do have their own stars, and they can be a main character in their own right. If they just make it into the postseason dance, anything can happen. Do you think they have a chance? Let us know!