In Year 7 under manager Torey Lovullo, the Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League pennant. In a 7-11 charm, will they also win the NL pennant in his 11th year at the helm? Arizona has retained its skipper on a two-year deal, multiple outlets reported on Thursday afternoon, including FOX Sports MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal.
Lovullo just concluded his 10th season as the D-backs' manager (2017-26), that being an 86-76 campaign that saw them miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season. Arizona has made the playoffs just twice over that span. Lovullo's stint is, of course, highlighted by the D-backs winning the 2023 NL pennant.
The other playoff appearance came in 2017, with the team's 93 regular-season wins in that year standing as their most under Lovullo. Moreover, Lovullo is far and away first in Diamondbacks' history with 750 managerial wins. Kirk Gibson's 353 managerial wins are second.
Prior to becoming Arizona's manager for the 2017 MLB season, Lovullo was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2013-16 and the first-base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011-12; both coaching positions were under manager John Farrell. Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen have each been in their respective positions since the 2017 season. As for this coming offseason, Arizona starting pitchers Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Mike Soroka, reliever Taylor Clarke and catcher James McCann, among others, are set to hit the free-agent market.
