PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks will retain manager Torey Lovullo for his 10th season after the team fell short of reaching the postseason for a second straight year, according to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and azcentral’s Nick Piecoro.
A team source confirmed to Arizona Sports that Lovullo will return for 2026.
The Diamondbacks entered 2025 with a record payroll nearing $200 million and expectations to compete for a championship, which did not materialize in an 80-82 season.
Managing partner Ken Kendrick told Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro, “I have never been more disappointed in a season than this one because our expectations were so high.” Yet, the club has opted against making significant change in the dugout.
Lovullo is the winningest manager in club history at 664-692 and the longest-tenured.
The Diamondbacks pushed the envelope this past offseason by signing ace starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to a $210-million contract and trading for All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor.
The 2025 season was disastrous through the trade deadline, however, as poor defense, pitching woes and injuries led to a 51-58 record by July 31. Merrill Kelly, Naylor and Eugenio Suarez were among the D-backs shipped to other teams, while Arizona was left with a younger roster for the final two months.
That is where Lovullo may have saved his job.
The Diamondbacks played their best baseball of the season with a less experienced, more athletic team, staying alive in the Wild Card race until the final weekend of the regular season. Their identity that leaned on speed, solid defense, good starting pitching and enough thump to score enough runs materialized as they climbed back into the pennant chase.
In the final week, Lovullo took on scrutiny for the decision to have potential top-five MVP candidate Geraldo Perdomo bunt in the 10th inning of a crucial game against the Dodgers, a move that backfired when the Dodgers held off the Diamondbacks and won in the 11th inning. Arizona was eliminated two days later.
Lovullo was much more forthright in 2025 regarding the job of a modern-day manager, explaining the decision-making process within an organization.
He described himself as “the manager of the baseball team once it hits the dugout,” saying he has a seat at the table but is not the primary decision-maker in other aspects, including pitching plans and starting lineup.
“There’s a group of people that are behind the scenes that are making a lot of decisions that used to be made in the traditional baseball manager sense,” he explained.
On Sunday, Lovullo said there is always doubt when asked about his job security, explaining he works in a cutthroat industry.
“I do have a contract for next year, but who knows? Anything is possible. We’ll see what happens,” Lovullo said.”
The 2026 Diamondbacks will be in a tough spot while waiting for key players to return from injury.
Burnes, A.J. Puk, Justin Martinez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will not be ready for Opening Day and are unlikely to play in the first half of next season. Zac Gallen is a free agent, and the rotation has plenty of question marks moving forward.
Torey Lovullo’s Diamondbacks resume before 2025
Lovullo came to the Valley with general manager Mike Hazen from the Boston Red Sox after the 2016 campaign. Lovullo was the bench coach in Boston, where he won the 2013 World Series under manager John Farrell.
The D-backs made the postseason in 2017, and Lovullo won the National League Manager of the Year Award in his debut season. His squad reached the National League Division Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Arizona did not make it back to the playoffs until 2023, when the D-backs unexpectedly ran through the National League and into the World Series for the first time since 2001. They defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies on the way, stunning Philadelphia in Games 6 and 7 at Citizens Bank Park.
Lovullo famously said, “We didn’t come across country to get our ass kicked.”
Arizona lost in five games to the Texas Rangers in the World Series, but the promise was there for a young team to build on a special run and continue improving.
Lovullo received a contract extension through 2026 after Hazen was extended through 2028.
The 2024 Diamondbacks fell short of the postseason despite a five-win improvement, as 89-73 was not good enough to clinch due to tiebreakers. Arizona went 2-5 over the final week of the season to squander opportunities for a team that had been among the hottest in baseball over the second half.
Lovullo seethed as he watched the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves make the playoffs by splitting a doubleheader against each other on the day after the regular season ended for everyone else due to a hurricane-caused reschedule, leading to this past offseason that set high expectations.
Four teams parted with their managers during the 2025 season: Pittsburgh with Derek Shelton, Colorado with Bud Black, Baltimore with Brandon Hyde and Washington with Dave Martinez. The San Francisco Giants on Monday fired Bob Melvin.
