The Arizona Diamondbacks are preparing to extend manager Torey Lovullo through the 2024 season according to multiple reports.
The 57 year old manager is currently in his seventh season with Arizona, a tenure which has included an NL Manager of the Year award in 2017. In his 6 seasons and change with the club, the D-backs have gone 446-483 under his stewardship.
Arizona has come flying out of the gates in the early part of the season, going 35-24 to sit tied for 1st in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unlike their divisional rivals who have a $226M payroll however, the Diamondbacks have been doing it with home grown talent and reclamation projects.
Arizona’s $115M payroll represents the 21st highest figure in the league, as the team has seen success via smart base running, and “small ball” tactics thus far. The team currently boasts the 6th best batting average in the majors (.260) and 5th in runs scored (292).
“I want to stay here for the rest of my life. I love Arizona, I love this community and I bleed Sedona red” Lovullo told reporters on Friday.
Despite this, the club is opting for a 1 year extension rather than tacking on a multi-year deal to Lovullo’s contract. This perhaps has to do with Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s deal which saw the club offer him a multi-year extension after their hot start, only to have the team come crashing back to reality in short order afterwards.
Pittsburgh currently sits in 2nd place in the NL Central with a 30-27 record after a scorching hot start. The Bucs are 5-5 in their last 10 contests with much of the fanfare around their early season subsiding as the dog days of summer commence.
Arizona is hoping that Lovullo & co. can keep their squad rolling and make their first postseason appearance since 2017.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Mwinog2777. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.