PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks opened the season with

the NL’s best record in April and stayed near the top of the NL West most of the season Edwin Diaz Jersey , leading the division at the beginning of every month.A September swoon knocked them quickly out of contention.Plagued by bullpen blowups, untimely hitting slumps and a bit of trying too hard, the Diamondbacks finished a once-promising season 82-80. Arizona had a winning record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2007-08, but finishing nine games back in the NL West was not what the Diamondbacks had in mind after ending a five-year playoff-less streak last season.“We’re not where we need to be right now, clearly,” Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen said Monday. “There were certainly some good things that happened this season, but it wasn’t what we envisioned in terms of what our goals were. Our goal was to go out and compete for a World Series championship and we didn’t do that.”Despite a string of injuries to key players and a couple of summer slumps, Arizona entered September with a one-game lead in the NL West. The Diamondbacks opened the month with three straight losses and finished it 8-19 to drop out of playoff contention.Arizona’s bullpen, reliable most of the season, went into a funk in September, blowing numerous leads. The Diamondbacks’ lineup went flat http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-alex-colome-jersey , producing most of its runs in early innings before going quiet late in games.And, as the pressure built, the Diamondbacks seemed to try too hard to get that big hit or out, often digging the hole even deeper.“When you try so hard to get something and you can’t reach it, it just ends up backing up on you,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.Now the Diamondbacks face a decision: Rebuild or retool slightly.Arizona certainly needs to make changes and could potentially lose two key players in left-hander Patrick Corbin and outfield A.J. Pollock to free agency. The Diamondbacks have to decide if they’re only a couple players away from being contenders again or overhaul the roster.“We need to objectively look at what our circumstances are, what the landscape’s going to be, where we feel like the talent is going to be on our roster, what we can do conceivably to make moves to improve our roster,” Hazen said. “Clearly, we need to improve our roster.”Other things to know about the Diamondbacks’ season:MAGADAN OUTThe Diamondbacks mutually agreed to part ways with hitting coach Dave Magadan on Monday James Paxton Jersey , ending his three-year stint in the desert. Arizona was one of baseball’s worst-hitting teams at .235 this season and has dropped its average each of the past three seasons. The rest of Lovullo’s staff will remain.INJURIESThe Diamondbacks had more than their fair share of injuries.Right-hander Taijuan Walker, a member of the opening day rotation, made three starts before needing season-ending Tommy John surgery. Starting third baseman Jake Lamb had season-ending shoulder surgery in early August. Pollock, fellow outfield Steven Souza Jr. and left-hander Robbie Ray each had stints on the DL.CORBIN AND POLLOCKCorbin was an All-Star and Pollock has put up big numbers when he’s been healthy. The Diamondbacks may not be able to afford either. Corbin is coming off his best season, going 11-7 with a 3.15 ERA while logging 200 innings for the second time in his career. He will be one of the top free-agent targets for teams this offseason. Pollock hit 21 home runs in an injury-plagued 2018 season and was an All-Star in 2015. Arizona will have two big holes to fill if both leave.GOLDSCHMIDT’S SEASONAll-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had another productive season, finishing with 33 homers and 83 RBIs while hitting .290. But the year didn’t start or end well for him. Goldschmidt had an abysmal first two months of the season and, after a big rebound, closed with a thud, going 7 for 41 with 18 strikeouts over the final 12 games. Goldschmidt, Arizona’s best and most popular player, enters the final year of his contract in 2019 http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , so the Diamondbacks face a big decision. DETROIT — Justin Verlander can expect a warm welcome Monday night when he pitches against his former team, the Detroit Tigers, for the second time in his career and first time in Comerica Park.Verlander (14-9, 2.73 ERA) remains a popular figure in Detroit even after the Tigers dealt him away at the waiver trade deadline last year. It was a trade he agreed to only at the last minute as his desire to pitch for a championship team overcame his reluctance to leave the franchise where he made his bones as a major league pitcher.“I am sure he had this series marked on his calendar for a while,” Detroit catcher James McCann told reporters. “Regardless of what we did to him last time. You know he’s going to want to come out and pitch well, coming back to Comerica.Article continues below ...He has faced his ex-team just once so far and it didn’t go so well for him.Detroit visited Houston earlier this year and pounded the ace of the World Series champions for four home runs among six hits good for six runs (one unearned) on July 15. Verlander took the loss but struck out 12 in six innings and didn’t walk a batter.Since his first appearance against Detroit, Verlander is 5-4 with a 3.93 ERA in his last nine starts.The Astros head to Detroit after losing 6-5 at Boston on Sunday night on a walk-off single by Red Sox pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland. Houston is 89-54 and 2 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the AL West while Detroit (59-84) is riding out the rest of the season, though it is 6-3 in its last nine games.“It will be a completely different animal the first time I go back to Comerica,” Verlander said in July.He will be opposed by left-hander Francisco Liriano, who at this time a year ago was pitching for the Astros.Liriano (4-9, 4.90) faced Houston in the other series against the Astros but did not figure in the decision during a start in which worked three innings Miles Mikolas Jersey , giving up a run on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts.Liriano picked up his first win since April 28 on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox when he allowed three runs, on seven hits in 5.0 innings.For his career, Liriano is 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA over four starts against the Astros.Rookie left fielder Christin Stewart can expect to get his first major league at-bat against Verlander after being called up to Detroit on Sunday when his team (Toledo) was eliminated by Durham from the International League playoffs. He hit .264 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI for the Mud Hens.“That’s one of the things we’ve been waiting for,” said manager Ron Gardenhire of the Tigers. “He’s going to play a lot this month. He’s going to get a lot of swings. He’s part of the future.“I want him playing (left field). I don’t want him DHing.”Also called up from Toledo by Detroit were veteran Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who will give the Tigers a third catcher, plus right-handed reliever Zac Reininger.Another pitcher or two will be called up by Detroit soon but Gardenhire declined to identify them because they haven’t been told yet. He said another infielder might be brought up if shortstop Jose Iglesias is unable to return from an abdominal strain.At least one of the pitchers is joining the rotation, the manager said, and Detroit will be going to a six-man rotation at that point.“I’ll tell those guys to keep doing what you’ve been doing,” Gardenhire said. “There’s a reason you’ve been called up here.”