SAN DIEGO — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo signed a contract extension through 2026 after the team’s run to the 2023 World Series, but he acknowledged that does not spare him from being evaluated for next season.
“There’s always doubt, right?” Lovullo said pregame on Sunday, before Arizona’s season finale. “This is a cutthroat industry. I take the mindset that I want to impress Mr. (owner Ken) Kendrick and (team president and CEO) Derrick Hall and my bosses every single day. That’s my main goal.
“And I do have a contract for next year, but who knows? Anything is possible. We’ll see what happens.”
When asked whether anyone has talked to him to reassure his job security for next season, Lovullo said he has not heard anything on that subject.
Lovullo just wrapped up his ninth season as the skipper of the Diamondbacks, a franchise for which he has been the winningest and longest-tenured manager. He and general manager Mike Hazen have been at the helm since the 2017 campaign.
Arizona has missed the playoffs for two straight years after their Fall Classic appearance, even with its playoff hopes alive entering the final weekend in both 2024 and 2025.
The Diamondbacks finished the 2025 season 80-82, having to watch an 83-win Cincinnati Reds squad reach the postseason.
On one hand, this season has been massively disappointing considering the expectations to contend, a record payroll near $200 million and the star power on the roster. Injuries played a significant role, but the team did not play sharp baseball consistently, either. That led to Arizona joining a group of sellers at the trade deadline.
Kendrick told Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro, “I have never been more disappointed in a season than this one because our expectations were so high.”
On the other hand, Arizona played its best baseball over the past two months to climb back into the pennant chase with a younger roster containing plenty of holes. Getting to the final weekend of the season with a puncher’s chance was a point of pride in the clubhouse given where the team started this run in August.
“I feel he did a great job,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “Even if he had a really good team in the beginning and they for some reason made a lot of changes, I feel like he handled it really well. At the end of the day, it’s not about him. It’s about the players. If we don’t perform how we’re supposed to perform, I think it’s not going to go the way they want.”
Four teams fired their managers during the 2025 season: Pittsburgh, Washington, Baltimore and Colorado. More movement is expected to come down this week with 18 teams sitting at home as the postseason begins.
