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Gabriel Moreno spent his offseason putting in work in his native Venezuela, getting himself prepared for the upcoming season. He was there in early January when the U.S. military staged a raid and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A new acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed leadership of a shaky government already dealing with a collapsed economy, inflation, infrastructure failures and a general lack of basic human services.
"It's hard, obviously, for the government," Moreno said in Spanish. "But the world knows that Venezuelans want a good future for their country. I think most people are OK with things."
Moreno hopes for a better future as well, starting with a healthy and productive 2026 season. He's been limited by various injuries over the past two seasons, including thumb and groin injuries in 2024 and a broken finger on his right hand, the one with which he throws, that cost him two months in 2025.
When Moreno was hit in the hand trying to catch a ball on a cool and rainy June night in Cincinnati last season, he was batting .270 with 20 runs batted in. He's already one of the best hitting catchers, as far as career batting average at .281, in Diamondbacks history after just three seasons.
The 2023 season saw him hit .284 and help the team to the World Series. In 2025, he finished with a .285 batting average after returning to play on Aug. 22.
Moreno has long been regarded for above-average defense, if not elite. Wearing his childhood nickname, "Luli," on his chest protector, Moreno is the present and future of the Diamondbacks at catcher, having just turned 26.
"It was hard waiting for my injury to heal last year," he said. "So I am just trying to control what I can control. It's a new year, but there are things you can't control and there's no avoiding it.
"First, I thank God for everything that has happened to me. The good and the bad, I've gained strength from it. This year obviously want to stay healthy and stay on the field the whole season."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Moreno seemed committed to "tie things up" after the 2024 season.
"And that hurt us when we lost 'Gabi.' That was a big opening that was hard to fill," Lovullo said. "And I felt terrible for him, because I know how hard he'd worked, and he hadn't really gotten things moving in a great direction, but I could tell that he was trending in a very positive way and he was going to have a big year. And it just didn't happen because of that injury.
"But he's in a good spot. Gabi's going to be a very good player for us this year."
Moreno feels he can get better at everything. There has been some concern and frustration about how he called games from behind the plate, but Moreno feels he has good communication with all of the Diamondbacks' pitchers.
The Diamondbacks, in hiring J.R. House to be their new third base coach, also got House's expertise in working with catchers. He's already doing that with Moreno in spring training.
Moreno has been catching bullpen sessions with the Diamondbacks' top pitchers since spring training opened last week, working with the same starters he has for the past few years. Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen are together again with Moreno.
"The number one thing in catching is being able to be a good game manager, a good game caller, building trust with the staff," House said. "But with Gabi, I actually think that he's very instinctual. He has a really good feel for it. And it's about communicating that to the pitcher that he's catching and making sure that they're on the same page."
Moreno said he works to be the best at his craft. He's also confident that the team will find a closer. "We have good arms in this camp, I feel like someone can step up and be closer with all that we have," he said.
The Diamondbacks position players, plus pitcher Ryne Nelson, who has hit in the past, were measured for their individual automated ball-strike system (ABS) strike zones on Monday, Feb. 16, at spring training.
"We're going to make darn sure that we get in there and do it the right way and get everything as tidy as possible," Lovullo said. "I've heard there is a very standard procedure (for measurement) and it gets the top and bottom of the zone."
Catcher Adrian Del Castillo has a left calf injury but can do some drills. Still, Lovullo said Del Castillo isn't likely to be ready for the season opener.
Del Castillo was considered a candidate for a designated hitter role as well as a catcher. Now that role could go to Pavin Smith or Ketel Marte and Carlos Santana when Lovullo wants to get Marte or Santana a partial day off.
José M. Romero can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @RomeroJoseM or Instagram at @romerojosem.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno looks for productive 2026 season
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A new acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed leadership of a shaky government already dealing with a collapsed economy, inflation, infrastructure failures and a general lack of basic human services.
"It's hard, obviously, for the government," Moreno said in Spanish. "But the world knows that Venezuelans want a good future for their country. I think most people are OK with things."
Moreno hopes for a better future as well, starting with a healthy and productive 2026 season. He's been limited by various injuries over the past two seasons, including thumb and groin injuries in 2024 and a broken finger on his right hand, the one with which he throws, that cost him two months in 2025.
When Moreno was hit in the hand trying to catch a ball on a cool and rainy June night in Cincinnati last season, he was batting .270 with 20 runs batted in. He's already one of the best hitting catchers, as far as career batting average at .281, in Diamondbacks history after just three seasons.
The 2023 season saw him hit .284 and help the team to the World Series. In 2025, he finished with a .285 batting average after returning to play on Aug. 22.
Moreno has long been regarded for above-average defense, if not elite. Wearing his childhood nickname, "Luli," on his chest protector, Moreno is the present and future of the Diamondbacks at catcher, having just turned 26.
"It was hard waiting for my injury to heal last year," he said. "So I am just trying to control what I can control. It's a new year, but there are things you can't control and there's no avoiding it.
"First, I thank God for everything that has happened to me. The good and the bad, I've gained strength from it. This year obviously want to stay healthy and stay on the field the whole season."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Moreno seemed committed to "tie things up" after the 2024 season.
"And that hurt us when we lost 'Gabi.' That was a big opening that was hard to fill," Lovullo said. "And I felt terrible for him, because I know how hard he'd worked, and he hadn't really gotten things moving in a great direction, but I could tell that he was trending in a very positive way and he was going to have a big year. And it just didn't happen because of that injury.
"But he's in a good spot. Gabi's going to be a very good player for us this year."
Moreno feels he can get better at everything. There has been some concern and frustration about how he called games from behind the plate, but Moreno feels he has good communication with all of the Diamondbacks' pitchers.
The Diamondbacks, in hiring J.R. House to be their new third base coach, also got House's expertise in working with catchers. He's already doing that with Moreno in spring training.
Moreno has been catching bullpen sessions with the Diamondbacks' top pitchers since spring training opened last week, working with the same starters he has for the past few years. Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen are together again with Moreno.
"The number one thing in catching is being able to be a good game manager, a good game caller, building trust with the staff," House said. "But with Gabi, I actually think that he's very instinctual. He has a really good feel for it. And it's about communicating that to the pitcher that he's catching and making sure that they're on the same page."
Moreno said he works to be the best at his craft. He's also confident that the team will find a closer. "We have good arms in this camp, I feel like someone can step up and be closer with all that we have," he said.
Players measured for ABS
The Diamondbacks position players, plus pitcher Ryne Nelson, who has hit in the past, were measured for their individual automated ball-strike system (ABS) strike zones on Monday, Feb. 16, at spring training.
"We're going to make darn sure that we get in there and do it the right way and get everything as tidy as possible," Lovullo said. "I've heard there is a very standard procedure (for measurement) and it gets the top and bottom of the zone."
Del Castillo injury update
Catcher Adrian Del Castillo has a left calf injury but can do some drills. Still, Lovullo said Del Castillo isn't likely to be ready for the season opener.
Del Castillo was considered a candidate for a designated hitter role as well as a catcher. Now that role could go to Pavin Smith or Ketel Marte and Carlos Santana when Lovullo wants to get Marte or Santana a partial day off.
José M. Romero can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @RomeroJoseM or Instagram at @romerojosem.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno looks for productive 2026 season
Continue reading...
