PHOENIX — Two weeks ago, Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Corbin Carroll stepped onto the team bus and noticed something that took him aback.

Having just turned 25 years old, Carroll is now among the most experienced members of a reimagined roster that changed so much in the past six weeks after the trade deadline and prospect call-ups.

“It wasn’t long ago that I was one of the least experienced. I think it’s fun to have that new energy up here,” Carroll said.

A more established and talented team failed to live up to heightened expectations over the first 109 games (51-58), while the younger and more raw iteration is scratching to stay in the fight. And it is doing a good job of it.

The Diamondbacks are 21-13 since the trade deadline and 4.5 games back of a postseason spot with a 72-71 record. Only postseason shoe-ins Milwaukee and Philadelphia have earned a better record in that span.

Despite adversity from injuries to trades and difficulties launching, the Diamondbacks are playing inspired baseball with inexperienced players filling several holes.

Blaze Alexander had played one inning of left field before robbing a home run on Saturday. Taylor Rashi made two saves in his first two career appearances. Andrew Saalfrank looks like a trusted back-end arm after he went a year without pitching.

Alexander had a similar realization as Carroll while playing center field on Friday, looking at Carroll in right and Jorge Barrosa in left.

“I was in center feeling like, ‘Whoa, dude, we’re all here,’” Alexander said. “It was a cool moment.”

When looking at the 2020 instructional camp roster, 10 current Diamondbacks are listed:

OF Corbin Carroll
SS Geraldo Perdomo
OF Alek Thomas
OF Jake McCarthy
LHP Andrew Saalfrank
RHP Brandon Pfaadt
RHP Ryne Nelson
OF Jorge Barrosa
RHP Bryce Jarvis
UTL Blaze Alexander

Instead of fading into obscurity after selling off key pieces, the youth movement has worked over the past six weeks.

“They don’t feel overmatched, they feel like they can win every baseball game that they play in and it’s not very common when you have as many one-year players as we have,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think it’s just a good blend of guys that are having fun and playing athletic baseball.”

Is the vibe in the clubhouse like 2023?

Carroll alluded to the vibes feeling like 2023 in a sense, and he was not the only player in the clubhouse to say that.

A charm of the 2023 National League-winning Diamondbacks team was the camaraderie with the younger players as they grew together.

A core group came up together in the minor leagues and were experiencing so much of what down that season for the first time, playing with an underdog mantra without the weight of expectations.

The number of players who played together in the minor leagues has now grown on the active roster, and a new group of young talent acquired in trades has filled in.

“I kind of make a joke like half of Reno’s here, right?” Saalfrank told Arizona Sports. “That’s the point, right? You get from Reno up here and try and help the big league team win. Super young team right now. I think there’s a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. Corbin mentioned like a very 2023 feel and I agree with that 100%.

“Just win the day I think is where we’re at right now. Not trying to look too far ahead. … It just seems like it’s a different guy every single day and everyone’s going out there and giving it their all.”

Diamondbacks maintaining production with younger roster

It looks different, but the offense has managed to maintain its production despite holes created by trades and injuries.

Arizona scored 4.84 runs per game entering the deadline, bolstered by a power rampage from Eugenio Suarez. Since Aug. 1, Arizona has put up 5.26 runs per game. The team OPS is basically the same at .759 before and .764 after.

Perdomo, Alexander, Ketel Marte and Carroll have been among the best 40 players in all of baseball by fWAR since Aug. 1, while the return of catcher Gabriel Moreno has made a difference for the lineup.

Situationally, the D-backs have had better success, hitting .290 with runners in scoring position (.240 before).

“I feel like with this group it’s a lot different, more speed on the bases,” Thomas told Arizona Sports. “It’s definitely a different style of baseball and I feel like I’ve seen it a lot in the minor leagues. … So for us to swing together and do what we’re doing now, it’s pretty cool to see.”

Run prevention has also improved, despite numerous bullpen injuries and the trade of rotation mainstay Merrill Kelly.

Arizona’s team ERA since the deadline is 3.91, which is top 10 in MLB. Before the deadline, it was 4.49, the 24th best. Both the starters and relievers have improved ERAs, even with a mix-and-match bullpen situation.

Is the postseason still a possibility?

The Diamondbacks have to go 12-7 to reach their 2023 win total of 84, which is difficult but doable.

That number being enough to reach the postseason would require a brutal finish from the New York Mets or San Diego Padres. Saalfrank pointed out that the Diamondbacks don’t “control their own destiny,” but they have chances to make up ground head-to-head.

The D-backs ended Saturday trailing San Francisco by a half-game and play the Giants six more times. These two division rivals could do a number on each other by splitting those games, or one could emerge ahead of the other. Call it a de facto playoff series between two teams that sold at the deadline and got hot.

Arizona closes the season with three games in San Diego, which is 5.5 games ahead of Arizona as the second Wild Card team with an additional game to play.

“We’re just trying to go out there and give ourselves a chance,” Saalfrank said. “If you play good ball, like that’s really all you can do and see what happens when you look up at the end.”

“ I know we’re over .500 now, that’s freaking awesome,” Alexander said. “So let’s keep rolling. Let’s separate that gap.”

Baseball Reference gives the D-backs a 6% shot at October.

The Diamondbacks are down to 19 games on the slate, critical reps for those breaking in and an opportunity to continue pushing for something greater, just in case it isn’t quite out of reach after all.