Arizona Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick made his disappointment for how the most expensive roster in team history performed in 2025 clear, but the organization is standing by manager Torey Lovullo.
Kendrick explained to Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on the factors that led to the decision to retain Lovullo for the final year of his contract in 2026, namely injuries impacting the roster and Lovullo’s ability to connect with players.
Kendrick credited Lovullo for the club’s performance over the final two months, as Arizona went 29-19 over its first 48 games after trading Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Merrill Kelly at the deadline and remained competitive.
“I think it’s only fair to say we didn’t end up with the talent on the field we hoped to have,” Kendrick said. “We just had extraordinary amounts of injuries. The manager’s job is to do the best he can with the talent he has.
“Our season went south. We got to the end of July and not Torey but his bosses, (president and CEO Derrick Hall), (general manager Mike Hazen) and me decided we were out of it and needed to reduce payroll and give younger players a chance to play. To the credit of our manager, he held the team together and they performed very well through the remainder of the season.”
Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick commended manager Torey Lovullo for the effort he’s put in over the past three seasons.
His comments on @BurnsAndGambo came shortly after Lovullo was confirmed to return in 2026. pic.twitter.com/XipZO7iB0W
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 29, 2025
In addressing any fans concerned over bringing back Lovullo, Kendrick added, “I would say they have every right to their opinions. I’m glad they’re passionate. I can be critical of Torey in certain ways. And yet I think you always say when you come to this point, ‘What would be a better situation than the one that we are in?’ And now we’ve concluded that Torey deserves one more year.”
Injuries played a role in this season’s failures, particularly Tommy John surgeries for ace Corbin Burnes and relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez. A torn ACL for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in early September was another roadblock.
The Diamondbacks still went into the final five games with a chance to make the playoffs, trailing the third and final NL Wild Card spot by merely one game. Arizona finished the season on a five-game losing streak, albeit with two losses after the D-backs were eliminated.
It was during this stretch when Lovullo made it clear what his role is and isn’t as a modern-day manager, explaining he manages the team in the dugout but does not have total control over personnel, lineups and rotations. Having a bullpen game with the season on the line instead of turning to Zac Gallen last Thursday was an organizational decision, for example.
Still, Lovullo admitted the end of the season is a time to make some self edits. The Diamondbacks had not been playing perfect baseball before the injuries amped up, and a veteran team never quite clicked before the trade deadline.
Lovullo admitted on Sunday that nothing is guaranteed in terms of his job security. He will not get a contact extension at this time, but Kendrick said Lovullo deserved another shot.
“If you look at the body of work of a manager, yeah, there’s disappointment. There’s decisions he made that probably he would wish he would’ve made a different one. But overall, he’s done a credible job,” Kendrick said. “And underneath it all, he has great respect among our players, and that’s an important element when you look at a leader.”
When asked what Lovullo could do differently next year, Kendrick laughed and said “win more games.”
Diamondbacks players vouch for Torey Lovullo
During locker room clean out day on Monday, Gallen found out that Lovullo was coming back for another season. Gallen is a free agent, but he explained what he felt made Lovullo a popular manager among players.
“I think he does a really good job of what I think a lot of people outside of this space and the world of baseball don’t understand what it is to be a manager,” Gallen said.
“It’s not always the X’s and O’s. There’s a lot of managing personalities. There’s a lot of managing the things that people don’t necessarily see. … Obviously the last two years haven’t gone the way that we’ve intended, but for me, Torey is the person that had my vote of confidence.”
Pitcher Brandon Pfaadt also described Lovullo as a “players’ coach” who makes an effort to connect with players so that they are comfortable on the field.
At the end of the regular season, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo credited Lovullo for his role in keeping the team together after the deadline, saying the impetus is on the players to perform up to expectations.
“He’s a guy that a lot of guys respect in here,” pitcher Corbin Burnes said.
