Diamondbacks Retain Torey Lovullo With Two-Year Deal After Historic 86-Win Miss

The Arizona Diamondbacks are keeping Torey Lovullo at the helm, agreeing to a two-year contract that extends the tenure of the most successful manager in franchise history. The deal resolves weeks of uncertainty after Arizona posted an 86-76 record — the highest win total in Major League Baseball this season for any team excluded from the postseason.

Lovullo’s return was first reported by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez citing a source, with the Arizona Republic confirming the contract length. His previous agreement expired following Sunday’s regular-season finale, when Arizona was mathematically eliminated on the final day for the second time in three years after the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4.

An 86-win campaign without October baseball underscores the structural difficulty of the National League West. The division features the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have claimed 13 of the last 14 NL West titles under manager Dave Roberts, and the San Diego Padres, who have reached the playoffs in five of the past seven seasons during the strongest sustained stretch in their history. Securing a wild-card berth out of that environment requires navigating both elite divisional rivals and deep NL contenders like the Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.

Arizona’s front office ultimately determined that the roster’s shortcomings were not rooted in managerial performance. Team president Derrick Hall publicly assessed that Lovullo delivered perhaps the best managing job of his career given the circumstances. The 2025 season was derailed by severe injuries across the roster and off-field disruptions, including another unexplained absence by star infielder Ketel Marte.

Over a full decade leading the club, the 61-year-old Lovullo has compiled a 750-768 record. His defining achievement remains guiding the Diamondbacks to a surprise World Series appearance in 2023, ending a 22-year championship drought that stretched back to the franchise’s 2001 title. That run cemented his standing within the organization and among the fan base.

His continued presence also preserves one of the longest-running manager-general manager partnerships in modern baseball. Lovullo was hired four weeks after Mike Hazen assumed control of baseball operations as general manager. Their intertwined tenures have produced a consistent organizational identity, blending a veteran-heavy approach with a developing young core that has repeatedly fallen short in high-leverage moments.

Among active MLB managers, only Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays and Roberts boast longer continuous tenures with their current clubs than Lovullo. In an era where franchises frequently change leadership after missing the playoffs, Arizona’s decision signals a preference for stability over disruption despite three consecutive years outside the bracket.

Before taking the Arizona job, Lovullo spent eight seasons as a major league player across seven teams in the 1980s and 1990s after playing college baseball at UCLA. He later served as bench coach for the Boston Red Sox during their 2013 World Series championship run, building a resume rooted in both dugout strategy and organizational culture.

Following the final game of the regular season, Lovullo addressed his future directly, stating he wanted to win a world championship with the organization but needed to know he was wanted. He had previously suggested earlier in the month that making the playoffs felt like a prerequisite for his coaching staff to return. Ultimately, the front office separated the win total from the standings outcome.

The new two-year contract keeps Lovullo under team control through the 2028 season, aligning his timeline with Hazen’s ongoing roster construction efforts.