See which players in the 2026 MLB playoffs have Arizona ties

By Mark Carlisle
Mail | X: @mwcarlisle

The Diamondbacks kept their postseason hopes alive until Game 162 but couldn’t sneak into the postseason. As the playoffs head into the Division Series this weekend, here are some hometown heroes and familiar faces Arizona fans can root for this October.

The Tampa Bay-New York series will have the most ties to home. The Yankees lead the way with five players on this list (excluding honorable mentions who likely won't make the Division Series rosters). The Rays are next with four.

The White Sox and Brewers have two players apiece on the list, and the remaining teams, the Dodgers, Padres and Guardians, each have one player.

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Frank Franklin II

Born in Arizona

Cody Bellinger — Yankees — OF

Bellinger was born in Scottsdale and attended Hamilton High School in Chandler. The former National League Most Valuable Player is in his second season with the Yankees, earning his third career All-Star appearance this year and being named the All-Star game's MVP.

Bellinger has had to step up in the void of three-time MVP Aaron Judge missing most of the season, and the Yankees have mostly lived and died with Bellinger. In wins, Bellinger is hitting .319 with a .937 OPS. In losses, he’s hitting .182 with a .514 OPS.

New York Yankees' Austin Wells during the thrid inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League against the Boston Red Sox Wild Card Series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Frank Franklin II

Austin Wells — Yankees — C

The Yankees’ catcher was also born in Scottsdale, though he went to high school out of state in Las Vegas. He returned to the Grand Canyon State for college, playing two seasons at the University of Arizona where he had a .357 career batting average and 1.036 career OPS.

He had his worst season in the majors this year, posting a .186 average and .624 OPS, but he came alive when it counted. Wells had three hits and four RBIs in the Yankees' two-game sweep of the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Erik S. Lesser

Griffin Jax — Rays — SP

Jax was born in Phoenix but went to high school in Colorado and attended the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Jax transitioned from a reliever to primarily a starter this year. That typically comes with an inflation of ERA, but Jax dropped his ERA from 4.23 last season to 3.53 this year. He’s been even better as a pure starter. Jax has had a dismal 8.00 ERA in his 11 relief appearances this year, but has also had a 3.14 ERA across his 23 starts.

High school in Arizona (not born in state)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jeff Chiu

Tarik Skubal — Dodgers — SP

The two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner was traded from the Tigers to the Dodgers at the deadline and will take the mound for L.A. in Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday.

Skubal was born in Hayward, California, but attended Kingman Academy in Kingman. He went to Seattle University for college.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Casey Legumina throws to the Texas Rangers during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Tony Gutierrez

Casey Legumina — Rays —RP

Legumina was born in Dallas but attended Basha High School in Chandler. He then went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

Legumina has had a career-best 3.60 ERA for the Rays this year.

College in Arizona (not born in state)

Milwaukee Brewers' JoJo Romero pitches during a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Aaron Gash

JoJo Romero — Brewers — RP

Romero attended the University of Nevada, Reno but transferred to a junior college after Nevada coach Jay Johnson left for Arizona. Romero went to Yavapai College in Prescott, and the Phillies drafted him in the fourth round in 2016.

Tampa Bay Rays' Jesse Scholtens pitches to Baltimore Orioles' Pete Alonso during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Chris O'Meara

Jesse Scholtens — Rays — RP

Scholtens played his first year of college ball at a junior college, transferred to the University of Arizona for his sophomore year, and then transferred again to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio for his junior year.

Scholtens appeared in just two games for the Wildcats, giving up seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He fared better at Wright State the next year, posting a 3.08 ERA over 90 2/3 innings, earning him a ninth-round draft pick by the Padres in the 2016 draft.

Former D-backsf

New York Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt pauses in the team dugout prior to a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Ross D. Franklin

Paul Goldschmidt — Yankees — 1B

Goldschmidt is one of the biggest players in Diamondbacks history, trailing only Randy Johnson in career WAR with the team.

After eight seasons in Arizona, 2011-18, he is the team’s career leader in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. His 209 home runs as a D-back trails only Luis Gonzalez (224).

At age 38, he’s been relegated to primarily only starting against left-handed pitchers with the Yankees, but he excels in that role with a .299 batting average and .967 OPS against southpaws.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Robbie Ray throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Mark J. Terrill

Robbie Ray — Padres — SP

Ray pitched for Arizona from 2015 through mid-2020. He was a key part of the team’s 2017 playoff run, earning an All-Star spot that year.

Ray was the 2021 AL Cy Young with the Blue Jays and has bounced around the league since. He was traded from the Giants to the Padres at the deadline this year, but declined after the trade. He had a 3.08 ERA with San Francisco but a 5.02 mark with San Diego in nine starts.

Ray did not appear in the team’s two-game sweep of the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, but will be the Game 1 starter Saturday against the Brewers in the NLDS.

Tommy Pham — White Sox — OF/DH

Played for Arizona for the second half of 2023, including the World Series run.

Pham was hot-and-cold from series to series that postseason. His highlights were a .429 average with a 1.071 OPS in the three-game NLDS sweep of the Dodgers and a .421 average with a 1.165 OPS in the five-game World Series loss to the Rangers.

Slade Cecconi — Guardians — RP

The Diamondbacks selected Cecconi as a first-round pick, 33rd overall, in 2020. He pitched for the D-backs in 2023 and 2024, with poor results. His ERA has improved some, but not much, going from a 6.06 ERA in Arizona to a 4.59 mark in two seasons in Cleveland.

He did throw two scoreless innings for the D-backs in the 2023 NLCS.

Randal Grichuk — White Sox — OF

Played for Arizona in 2024 and the first half of 2025.

Cole Sulser — Rays — RP

Pitched in four games for Arizona in 2023 but did not pitch in the playoffs.

Drafted or originally signed by the D-backs (didn’t play for MLB team)

New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after being hit by a pitch against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Yuki Iwamura

Jazz Chisholm Jr. — Yankees — 2B

The D-backs signed Chisholm as an international free agent at age 17 out of the Bahamas.

The former MLB The Show cover athlete was in the D-backs’ minor league for three and a half seasons, including a season representing the D-backs in the Arizona Fall League. He was traded at the 2019 trade deadline to the Marlins for starting pitcher Zac Gallen.

José Caballero — Yankees — Utility

The D-backs drafted Caballero in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Caballero is from Panama but played at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida, making him eligible for the amateur draft.

He played two and a half seasons in the D-backs’ minor league system. He was traded at the 2019 trade deadline — on the same day as Chisholm — to the Mariners for starting pitcher Mike Leake.

Chad Patrick — Brewers — RP

Patrick was a fourth-round pick by the D-backs in 2021 from Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, Indiana.

He would also later be dealt at the deadline, playing a season and a half in the D-backs’ minor league system before being traded mid-2023 to the Athletics for utility player Jace Peterson.

Honorable mentions

 Born in Arizona

Blake Perkins — Brewers — OF

Perkins was born in Litchfield Park and played at Verrado High School in Buckeye. While he played for the Brewers in the postseason in each of the last two years, he’s not expected to make the postseason roster this year. He last played in the majors on July 26 and has had a .157 batting average with a .508 OPS in 55 games in the majors this season.

Jonathan Ornelas — Brewers — Utility

Ornelas was born in Glendale and attended Raymond S. Kellis High School in Glendale. He is not expected to be on the Brewers’ postseason roster, as he has played just nine games in the majors this season, three with the Brewers.

Gage Workman — Padres — 3B

Workman was not on the Padres Wild Card Series roster. He is the only player on this list to be born in Arizona and attend high school and college in the state. He was born in Chandler, attended Basha High School in Chandler and played at Arizona State University.

He spent the first half of the season with the Tigers, playing 16 games in the majors, and was traded at the deadline in the same trade that brought Casey Mize to San Diego. He played two games with Padres — in Phoenix, incidentally — before being sent down.

 Went to college in Arizona (not born in state)

Jared Oliva — Rays — OF

Oliva played three seasons for the University of Arizona, 2015-17, posting a .280 average and .772 OPS. It was good enough to be drafted in the seventh round by the Pirates in 2017.

After playing 26 games for the Pirates in 2020-21, he finally cracked the majors again this season, playing seven games for the Giants. He was then waived by the Giants and selected by the Mets, who later waived him. He signed with the Rays on Aug. 28 but has not played a major league game for Tampa Bay yet.

Jared Koenig — Brewers — RP

Central Arizona College in Coolidge was Koenig’s middle stop of three colleges. He ended up at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he would be a 35th-round pick by the White Sox in 2014.

Koenig beat the odds of the low draft pick — the MLB Draft has since shrunk to 20 rounds — to be a major leaguer. After debuting with the Athletics in 2022, Koenig was a major bullpen piece for Milwaukee in 2024 and 2025, posting a 2.67 ERA in 128 innings across the two seasons.

He’s had poor results with limited opportunity this year, though: a 9.00 ERA in seven innings of work, despite doing well in Triple-A.

 Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Meet Mark

Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.

Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library  and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.

Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.

Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.

 Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.