Gabriel Moreno just completed the best season ever by a Diamondbacks catcher. Before this year, nobody had reached even five bWAR, the highest figure by a full-time player at the position belonging to Miguel Montero’s 4.5 bWAR, back in 2012. [Daulton Varsho did reach 4.9 in 2022, but he was very much an outfielder by this point, with only eighteen starts as a catcher] Montero blew that away, reaching 6.7 bWAR. Never mind at catcher, since the end of 2015, only Ketel Marte and Gerardo Perdomo have posted a higher figure, and Moreno ranked fourth among all National League position players. He’s likely to become only the second ever catcher, after Joe Mauer, to win the batting title, Golden Glove and Silver Slugger in the same season.
However, great though this success was to enjoy as a fan, it poses a really hard question for the team. Moreno’s current contract expires at the end of 2028. The topic of an extension has certainly cropped up between the team and the player. Speaking back in July, team president Derrick Hall said, “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.” But it is notable that, while Brandon Pfaadt and Geraldo Perdomo have both signed long-term deals, Moreno has remained on a year-to-year basis, now about to enter his second year of arbitration.
That, alone, is going to be expensive enough compared to his current salary. Moreno earned just $2.55 million this year, and on the back of that historic season MLB Trade Rumors is currently projecting more than double that, at $6.1 million. Though that would still represent a real bargain for 2027, providing he continues the same level of production (and taking the season as read, obviously). A major plus was Gaby largely remaining healthy this year. His 130 appearances was easily a career high, surpassing the 111 made in 2023. Interestingly, both campaigns saw him play the same number of games at catcher (104). The big difference was the 25 appearances at DH this season, compared to just one in 2023.
Unpalatable as it is to say so, Moreno’s trade value will never be higher. Two years of control left, coming off what feels deserving of a top five MVP performance, at a premium position? That would fetch a real haul, restocking several other areas of necessity. However, the obvious problem is, who would play catcher? The team does have a couple of good catching prospects, in Ryder Helfrick and Carlos Virahonda. But Helfrick was only drafted in June, and is only 21 years old. Virahonda is younger still, though is more advanced – he got a cup of coffee at Double-A last season. Still, 2028 is the earliest we should expect to see him.
Trading Moreno right now, would only make sense if the team was in tear-down mode, and the six wins lost wouldn’t matter. For an 86-win team with the misfortune to be in the wrong league, it’s less logical. But do they want to splash out for an extension either? To get an idea of what it might cost, let’s look at some recent contract extensions for catchers. The obvious point of comparison is Cal Raleigh, who signed one with the Mariners in March 2025, before his epic, 60-homer season. He was coming of his age 27 season – a year older than Gaby – where he posted 4.6 bWAR and had two arb years remaining like Moreno. Raleigh got a 6-year, $105 million extension, with a full no-trade clause.
In Cal’s favor, he had proven himself more durable than Gabriel. Over the two seasons prior to the extension, Raleigh averaged 149 games, with 120 starts per year at catcher. Even including his career-high playing time in 2026, Moreno has been considerably less durable, averaging 106 games and 82 starts per season. On the other hand, the factors which make this the best time to trade Gaby, make it the worst time to extend him, coming off what could well end up being his career best. Moreno may not have hit 60 homers, but a Gold Glove and a batting title balance that. The two catchers’ overall production in those season was quite close: 7.2 bWAR for Raleigh, 6.7 for Moreno. Imagine the Mariners trying to extend Raleigh after last year.
Should the D-backs back up the armored car to Casa Moreno? The good thing is, he is still young. A six-year deal, covering the two arb season and four in free agency, would still only run through Gaby’s age 32 season. There are plenty of cases of catchers remaining productive to that point – maybe not 5-6 wins, but certainly 2-3. Over the past decade, thirteen catchers have been worth 2.5 bWAR or better at age 32+. But, the reality is that the team will still be paying over the odds for a player who will be well onto the down side of the aging curve by that point. Younger, cheaper and possibly better alternatives, perhaps in the shape of Helfrick and Virahonda, may be available.
Long-term deals for catchers can work. Buster Posey’s 9-year, $167 million deal with the Giants was expensive, but worth 32.4 bWAR. On the other hand, the Twins signed Joe Mauer, to an 8-year, $184 million contract in March 2010. The years covered, 2011-2018, he averaged 128 games, and put up 22.4 bWAR. But he had to stop playing catcher less than half-way through it, and the math is rather different for a first-baseman. Or there’s Sean Murphy with the Braves. Over the past three years, he has earned $39 million, but been worth below four bWAR. There’s still two years and $30 million more to go on that, and the signs aren’t good.
To some extent, it depends on broader factors. The D-backs contended until the final weekend this year, and will hope to remain a contender in 2027. But who knows when that season might start, and 2028 is even less predictable, never mind 2029-2032. If the team believes their window of contention stretches several seasons ahead, then extending a core position would make sense. But if not, then maximizing Moreno’s value may involve trading him for prospects who can help in the next window. There are no easy answers, and no matter what is decided, it’s very likely we won’t know if it was the right choice for years.
Not that this will stop anyone from reacting, of course! So let’s get ahead of the curve. Here’s a poll with some options of ways to handle Moreno. I largely expect “back up the truck” to win, simply because history shows us that fans are very good at spending other people’s money. 🙂 But feel free to explain your reasoning in the comments.
Matthew Pouliot
D.J. Short
