Arizona Diamondbacks' manager Torey Lovullo smiles in the dugout before a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
Republished October 01, 2026 - 12:58 PM
Original Publication Date October 01, 2026 - 12:26 PM
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back manager Torey Lovullo for his 11th season with the franchise, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person said Lovullo's deal is for two years. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the new deal hasn't been announced.
A news conference with Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen was scheduled for later Thursday.
The 61-year-old's future with the club was in flux after the D-backs missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Arizona was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season for the second time in three seasons when the Phillies beat the Rays 7-4 on Sunday.
The D-backs finished with an 86-76 record — the best in MLB for a team that didn’t qualify for October baseball.
Lovullo is the winningest manager in Diamondbacks history, going 750-768 during a full decade in charge, with the highlight being a surprise World Series appearance in 2023. He is the third-longest tenured manager in the big leagues behind Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash and Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.
The postseason success in 2023 raised expectations in the desert, but the D-backs haven’t been able to make it back to the playoffs. Arizona won 89 games in 2024, but missed out on October baseball after losing a tiebreaker to the New York Mets.
The D-backs were in playoff contention for much of 2025 before fading down the stretch and finishing with an 80-82 record.
Arizona started this season with postseason expectations and were in contention throughout the summer, but the team could never quite reach its full potential. Two of the team’s main starting pitchers — Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly — struggled and injuries to ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar put a dent in their depth.
Catcher Gabriel Moreno won the NL batting title this season, but other key hitters like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo were inconsistent.
Late-season drama surrounding Marte’s no-show in Boston back in August didn’t help momentum.
The affable Lovullo is a popular presence in the organization. He played eight seasons in the big leagues for seven teams in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2013 and played college baseball at UCLA.
He was hired following the 2016 season by general manager Mike Hazen and named the 2017 NL Manager of the Year after leading the Diamondbacks to a 93-win season — a 24-win improvement over the previous year — and a trip to the playoffs.
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