PHOENIX -- Torey Lovullo believed his Diamondbacks team was going to be in Atlanta this week, battling the Braves in the National League Wild Card Series. Others might have given up hope with Arizona trailing the Phillies by four games with six to play, but Lovullo was not among them.
Even after the Diamondbacks lost last Saturday to the Padres and needed the Phillies to lose on the season's final day while Arizona had to beat San Diego, he believed it would somehow happen.
Not until the Phillies’ victory over the Rays flashed final on the Petco Park scoreboard did the reality hit Lovullo, and he struggled to process it all. He knew his contract was up, and he didn’t know if his time in Arizona was as well.
So Lovullo did what he always does in these circumstances -- he retreated to the safety and comfort of his family. Monday and Tuesday, he and his wife Kristen sat in their Scottsdale, Ariz., home and watched every episode of “Ted Lasso.”
Meanwhile, text message after text message piled up on Lovullo’s phone. Current players checking in to see how he was, former players expressing support, media wanting to know what was happening with his contract situation. Some 250 messages that went unanswered.
"I just went radio silent," Lovullo said. "I just told myself I had to emotionally unplug."
By midday Wednesday, Lovullo was ready to reengage with the world, and he contacted Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen. They wound up agreeing on a two-year extension to keep Lovullo in Arizona.
A decision on the status of the coaching staff will be made by Lovullo in the coming days.
Lovullo and Hazen have a relationship that dates back decades, and they know each other well. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and while Hazen had made the decision to bring back Lovullo days before the regular season ended, he knew that it wasn't the right time to talk with him about it.
"I didn't bring that to him because we were in the throes of having to win eight games in a row to make the playoffs," Hazen said. "I didn't want to drop that into whatever we were brewing there and have that have any impact on anyone's mindset. And I thought his focus and separation and what he was gunning for was right where it needed to be."
Normally, the Diamondbacks make their decisions public right after the season ends, so when Lovullo's status dragged on until Thursday, there was speculation that the two sides were having trouble coming to an agreement. There were rumors that other teams coveted Lovullo, and he might have had interest.
In the end, none of that was true. And after Hazen and Lovullo spoke Wednesday, it took less than a day to agree on the extension, which lines Lovullo up with the two years that Hazen has left on his deal.
Since their run to the World Series in 2023, the Diamondbacks have won 89, 80 and 86 games and not made the playoffs. The past two seasons, they missed out by a couple of games, and in 2024 when they won 89 games, they lost a three-team tiebreaker.
Hazen consulted with managing general partner Ken Kendrick and team president/CEO Derrick Hall on Lovullo's status before making his final decision.
The trio took into account the number of injuries the team suffered to key contributors. Hazen took responsibility for shortcomings in the construction of the roster and the failure to add more at the Trade Deadline.
"Torey and the coaches did a really good job of keeping this team together and playing hard through what was a fairly tumultuous season on a number of different fronts," Hazen said. "The characteristics of playing a brand of baseball that I appreciate and respect, and I think that leads to wins. It led to a decent amount of wins. It didn't lead to enough wins.
“We are all disappointed by the way the season ended. We should have been in the playoffs, but that didn't happen."
Lovullo said after Sunday's season finale that his preference was to return, but he wanted to be wanted. When he realized that Kendrick, Hall and Hazen were all on the same page, he was all in.
"I care mostly about impressing Ken, Derrick and Mike every single day," Lovullo said. "I want them to come here and be proud of what we do and what we accomplish, and I want to be the absolute best I can possibly be for the players. So that's what I was mostly talking about."
Lovullo has a 750-768 record (.494) in 10 years with Arizona, though that figure is somewhat misleading. If you take out the horrendous 2021 season in which the Diamondbacks went 52-110, his record would be 698-658 (.515).
In nine full seasons (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), the Diamondbacks have finished above .500 six times and were two games under last year.