This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert's D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It's still amazing to me and no doubt frustrating to the Diamondbacks that they led the Major Leagues in runs scored in 2024 and still missed the playoffs, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

The pitching staff simply didn't hold up its end of the bargain due to a variety of factors, including the fact that every member of the starting rotation except for Brandon Pfaadt spent time on the injured list.

If you just looked at the raw numbers for the hitters and then the pitchers, you would say that Arizona's biggest need this offseason was to add pitching.

And, well, you'd be wrong.

The Diamondbacks' biggest need heading into the offseason was offense, and even though they addressed some of that in acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor from the Guardians last weekend, they might not be done.

That's because they've already lost first baseman Christian Walker to free agency after he agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal with the Astros last week.

In addition, the Diamondbacks have lost Joc Pederson and expect to lose free agent Randal Grichuk, a duo that formed a designated hitter platoon for Arizona in 2024. Pederson agreed to a two-year deal with the Rangers on Monday.

That is a lot of offense to have to account for, even with the addition of Naylor, and it might mean that the Diamondbacks have to win using a little different formula than they did in 2024.

Whereas the offense carried the day, they will likely have to plan for less offense and better pitching to win in 2025.

They are still going to try to find a way to add some offense to the lineup in the absence of Walker, Pederson and Grichuk, but that's been alleviated somewhat with the Naylor deal.

So now, finding a little more offense as well as a back-end reliever with closing experience are the priorities left for Arizona.

"I still think we have some eye on the offense for sure," GM Mike Hazen said. "We're gonna still stay engaged in everywhere we were before. Bullpen is something that we've definitely still been involved with. So we'll see what happens there, but there seems to be a decent amount of activity going on right now."

Last year was the first time that Hazen went after a player -- or players in this case -- who were strictly designated hitters. That might not be their preference this year, because they may want to hold that DH spot open to be rotated among their regular position players to give them partial days off.

For instance, with second baseman Ketel Marte wearing down a bit towards the end of last year, the Diamondbacks could look to get him more at-bats as a DH in 2025 to lessen the wear and tear on his body. Marte wouldn't be the primary DH, but giving him some at-bats there would lessen the amount of defense he would have to play.

That would also free up some at-bats in the infield, which could lead to an opportunity for someone like top prospect Jordan Lawlar to get some playing time.

The Diamondbacks do have offensive options internally, including 2017 first-round pick Pavin Smith, who has not gotten an extended look since being selected seventh overall.

The organization still believes in Smith's ability to hit, and it was encouraged by his performance in the second half last year.

"[It] leaves him in a similar spot that he was before," Hazen said. "Maybe he's not playing as much first base, but we still anticipate him getting his hacks in and we want to see what that bat can do."