Torey Lovullo is a survivor. He will be back with the Diamondbacks as a lame duck manager in 2026, and he has done that job before.
This is also something of a milestone. Lovullo will become just the 118th person in history to manage for 10 years in Major League Baseball. That’s a badge of honor, a long run for someone without a World Series title.
Many local fans are infuriated. I am overjoyed. Good people deserve patience and time.
Arizona is a better place when Lovullo is conducting daily press conference, even when he’s gushing over mediocre teams that are hanging him out to dry.
Especially when Lovullo has been covering for a lot of people in the organization for a long time.
Let’s be clear: I am not an apologist. I have been very critical of Lovullo’s performance in 2025.
The team that broke camp was ill-prepared, entitled and seemed to tune out their leader, the one who needed a poll of 32 people before making his decision on an Opening Day starter. Not a good look, not a good mix.
It’s safe to say the organization rightfully blames Lovullo for enabling Ketel Marte, which clearly cost the manager credibility inside the clubhouse. When the truth finally came to light – and not before Geraldo Perdomo barged loudly into Lovullo’s press conference and declared the matter over – the team finally seemed to heal from the inside. They played winning baseball afterward, even though they sold off a large chunk of their assets at the trade deadline and made an improbable run at the postseason.
Lovullo deserves blame for failing to inspire the most expensive team in Diamondbacks history. It took a blunt Mike Hazen clubhouse speech and a national report that the Diamondbacks would likely trade Marte in the offseason to finally get this team’s attention. But Lovullo also deserves credit for steadfastly holding the course with a much younger, bouncier, eager-to-please group of players.
But that’s not why Lovullo deserves one final shot.
It was his admission that most of the decisions made in Arizona are by think-tank committee, and that Lovullo only has a seat at the table. Which means he has very little power and very limited influence.
Lovullo wasn’t complaining, and I’m guessing the working conditions are now similar in many MLB cities, even if they are a marked change in baseball’s traditional power structure and hierarchy. But Lovullo doesn’t have power over his starting lineups. He has zero autonomy until the game begins. He has no ability to ride a hot streak, lean on his gut instincts or bench a player just to send a message to the group.
Understand that, and the picture becomes much clearer and kinder to Lovullo.
If the Diamondbacks mostly need their manager to build deep relationships with players and take multiple arrows for those with a seat at the table, well, they’ve already got the perfect guy.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM and the Arizona Sports app.
