The Arizona Diamondbacks will keep Torey Lovullo as their manager after narrowly missing the postseason this year, per Nick Piecoro. His two-year extension lines him up contractually with general manager Mike Hazen, who hired Lovullo for the 2017 season to replace former manager Chip Hale. The Diamondbacks had a solid season despite narrowly missing the playoffs in 2026, finishing the year with an 86-76 record—just two games out from the final spot in the Wild Card.
In his decade as the Diamondbacks' manager, Lovullo has six winning seasons and earned the Manager of the Year award in 2017. He has two postseason appearances during that stretch, with the more impressive of the two resulting in a World Series appearance during the 2023 season. Since that season, though, the Diamondbacks haven't made the postseason despite having two years in which they had a superior record.
The Diamondbacks' stellar 86-76 record would have been more than enough to get them a postseason spot if they played in the American League, but their presence in the same division as the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers makes things far more complicated for them. They still very well could have snuck into the Wild Card this year, but more midseason drama surrounding All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte threw a wrench in their postseason plans. Marte didn't show up to a game at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox midway through August, eventually moving to the injured list with a knee injury after a stay on the development list.
The Diamondbacks went on to lose two games against the Red Sox, and dropped at least one game in each of their following three series, which Marte missed. Additionally, Marte's mind wandered elsewhere during his stint on the injured list, as he made an appearance at a Phoenix casino while sidelined. Whether or not they would have won a few of those games with Marte is anybody's guess, but he certainly could have helped their chances.
With Lovullo still at the helm and a solid season under their belt, the Diamondbacks will look to make a return to the postseason for the first time since 2023 next season.
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