SAN DIEGO -- The Diamondbacks have a number of decisions to make this offseason and the first one, which could come this week, is whether Torey Lovullo returns as manager for an 11th season.
Lovullo, hired by GM Mike Hazen prior to the 2017 season, signed a three-year extension after the team's run to the 2023 World Series, and to date there have been no discussions between the two sides about another extension.
Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall said recently in a radio interview on 98.7 FM that the two sides had pushed any talk about it until after the season. Hall, though, praised Lovullo heavily during the interview, and Hazen has long been a supporter of the manager.
"I probably compartmentalized it, pushed it aside, and just told myself to be present for these guys and be available," Lovullo said after the season-ending 9-4 loss to the Padres. "My status should be minimized inside of that clubhouse. When it's time to get to it, it'll happen. But up until this point, I don't know where it's at, and I have some decisions to make. I have some things to think about, as do the D-backs, and where it goes from here, I don't know."
Lovullo has a 750-768 record in his time 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.
In nine full seasons (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), the Diamondbacks finished above .500 six times and were two games under last year.
Lovullo, a Southern California native, has made Arizona his home, and it sounds like he would like to continue doing so.
"I love Arizona, and the people and the fans are spectacular," Lovullo said. "The group that I work for is amazing. I love being around them every single day, and I don't want that to change. And I want to win a world championship with this organization. But I want to be wanted. I'll just leave it at that. [My job status] is probably not the conversation to have right now. I need to think about a few things."
Lovullo was asked if he felt unwanted by the organization.
"I've never felt unwanted, but there's some decisions that need to be made, and it's gotten this far, so I don't know what's going on," he said. "And once I figure that out, if it works in my favor, I do want to be wanted."
Lovullo's ability to communicate and build relationships with his players is at an elite level. Minor League players often express surprise when they've received a text message from Lovullo complimenting them about their performance. Taking the time to do something like that is not usually something that a big league manager does.
"I think Torey is great," veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "I think he had some tough things he had to deal with this year, and I thought he did a great job with them. You know, at the end of the day, it's always on the players, and I think us as players, we just didn't do a good enough job when we had a chance to take care of business. It's on us."