During a radio interview Thursday with Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Diamondbacks team president/CEO Derrick Hall said his club has had some talks with catcher Gabriel Moreno about a long-term contract extension. “We love Gabi, and we’ve had those conversations in the past with him and I’m sure we’ll continue to have conversations with him about his future because he has become a mainstay,” Hall said. (hat tip to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports)
This marks the first official word of any extension negotiations between Moreno and the D’Backs, though it isn’t surprising that the club explored a multi-year commitment during the backstop’s days as a pre-arbitration player. Moreno and the Diamondbacks avoided arbitration this past winter by agreeing on a $2.55MM salary for the 2026 season, and Moreno has two arb years remaining before entering free agency in the 2028-29 offseason.
Moreno was pegged as a cornerstone player for the D’Backs from the moment he arrived in Arizona in December 2022, when the Blue Jays dealt Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in exchange for Daulton Varsho. The memorable swap addressed Arizona’s need for catching help in a major way, as Moreno was regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects at the time of the deal. He made his MLB debut in the form of 25 games and 73 plate appearances with the Jays in 2022, but Moreno’s first full big league season saw him win a Gold Glove and hit .284/.339/.408 with seven homers over 380 PA for a Diamondbacks team that went onto win the NL pennant.
Moreno’s production has only continued to rise. His 102 wRC+ in 2023 was followed by a 107 wRC+ in 2024, a 117 wRC+ in 2025, and a 135 wRC+ this season. The 26-year-old catcher has seven homers and a .315/.394/.458 slash line in 312 PA this year, with very strong strikeout and walk rates (though a .350 BABIP has helped buoy some average hard-contact numbers).
Defensively, Statcast ranks Moreno sixth among all catchers in Fielding Run Value over the 2023-26 seasons, with Moreno given plus grades for his framing, blocking, and especially his throwing. Moreno has thrown out 57 of 198 runners trying to steal on him since Opening Day 2023.
Durability is perhaps the only question in regards to Moreno’s viability as an extension candidate. He has spent time on the injured list in each of the last four years, ranging from relatively minor issues (shoulder inflammation, adductor strain, thumb sprain) to a broken finger in 2025 that cost him over two months. This year, an oblique strain in mid-April sent Moreno to the IL once more, though he was able to return in just a few weeks’ time.
Some extra wear and tear is to be expected for any full-time catcher, and Moreno’s injuries don’t points to any real red-flag recurring issues. The D’Backs have also been pretty proactive in giving Moreno rest days and DH days, and have regularly had three catchers (Moreno, James McCann, Adrian Del Castillo, and occasionally Aramis Garcia) on the active roster at one time, as Del Castillo has gotten the most DH days of anyone on the team this season.
Moreno should earn between $15MM-$16MM over his remaining two arb years, and one would imagine an extension would cover at least three of his free agent years. Based on other recent Diamondbacks extensions under GM Mike Hazen, the D’Backs would likely want a club option attached as well.
The five-year, $99.4MM extension Cal Raleigh signed with the Mariners in advance of his 60-homer 2025 season might very well be a target point for Moreno’s agents at Klutch Sports. Raleigh inked his deal heading into his age-28 season (whereas Moreno will be 27), and with one of his three arb years already in the books. While Raleigh’s power numbers were superior to Moreno’s, their overall offensive production was pretty similar. Moreno has a career 114 wrC+ from 1429 career PA and counting, whereas Raleigh had a 111 wRC+ from 1760 PA at the time of his extension.
The Diamondbacks already have Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Brandon Pfaadt, and Justin Martinez signed to extensions that will keep them under team control through at least the 2030 season. Corbin Burnes‘ six-year, $210MM free agent deal also runs through 2030. Having over $100MM on the books for the 2030 campaign is no small matter for a team that has generally been a mid-tier spender at best, even though D’Backs ownership has been more willing to stretch the budget over the last couple of years.
Of course, there’s obvious value in adding to this list of extensions by locking up one of baseball’s best catchers. Since the D’Backs have two years of control still remaining over Moreno, an extension could wait until perhaps the 2027-28 offseason, even if continued production will boost Moreno’s asking price.
