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.

Diamondbacks fans reacted with frustration when the Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million free-agent deal last month, adding to an already formidable team that won the World Series in 2024 after signing Shohei Ohtani to a record-setting contract.

But the Dodgers are not the focus of the Diamondbacks’ front office. They know the Dodgers will always have more money to spend and will once again be the favorites to win the NL West.

The Diamondbacks, though, remember what happened in 2023, when Los Angeles ran away with the division, only to be swept by Arizona in the NL Division Series.

It was a magical playoff run for the Diamondbacks, who got all the way to the World Series before falling to the Rangers in five games. The lesson they took from it? All you have to do is get into the playoffs, and anything can happen.

"They're going to make their team better," general manager Mike Hazen said about the Dodgers early in the offseason. "They've done that every year since I've been here. Hopefully, we do the same, and we'll see where it takes us during the season. But they're going to be formidable, just like they always are. We can't focus on that. We have to focus on putting the best team we can on the field, and we'll see what happens."

It's the same for manager Torey Lovullo, who has grown used to competing against both the Dodgers and a high-payroll Padres team the past couple of seasons.

"We know what the ground rules are," Lovullo said. "We know what the landscape is, and we embrace that challenge. We know we have to be a little bit better technically, a little bit sharper mentally, and just prepare ourselves every single day. It forces us to do better. I don't mind that at all. Is it daunting? Of course. We have to embrace it."