Why the Diamondbacks Exercised Torey Lovullo's Club Option for the 2023 Season
The Diamondbacks ended any speculation on Torey Lovullo's immediate future, exercising his club option for the 2023 season. Lovullo will return for his seventh season as the team's on-field manager.
The team's second half improvement likely factored into the team's decision to retain Lovullo for one more season. The D-backs limped into the All-Star break with a 40-52 record. Since the All-Star break the team has gone 22-16, with vast improvements across the board in both hitting and pitching.
| Half | Record | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | SB% | ERA | WHIP | K/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First | 40-52 | .223 | .302 | .383 | .685 | 72.5% | 4.34 | 1.320 | 2.33 |
Second | 22-16 | .253 | .327 | .404 | .730 | 76.9% | 3.98 | 1.221 | 2.70 |
The main takeaway is ownership is willing to let Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo prove they can build a contender but will only commit to them for one more year. The organization has already seen the first wave of prospects arrive this season, with Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Tommy Henry making their debuts. Next season could see more of their top prospects arrive with Jordan Lawlar, Brandon Pfaadt, Blake Walston, Drey Jameson, and Ryne Nelson as potential 2023 call-ups. The hope is they can develop into the team's core group of players for the next playoff contender.
Lovullo is no stranger to player development, with a decade of experience managing minor league teams for Cleveland. The big leagues are a different story, with player development being secondary to the team's win-loss record. For Lovullo to remain as the manager beyond 2023, the team will need to be successful at leveraging a Top-5 farm system into quality big league players. The team identified that area as one of weakness in the previous offseason, adding two more coaches to their player development staff to oversee their prospects once they hit the big leagues to ease that transition.
The first task for Lovullo will be to manage a young club through a difficult September schedule. The core members of 2023 roster are already in the big leagues, so it's important they learn how to win at this level as soon as possible. How the team performs in their final 32 games will set the expectations for next season.
The likely expectation for the 2023 season is the D-backs continue improve towards a playoff contender. With another wave of highly-touted prospects coming up, the hope is the improvement in talent will translate to the team's win-loss record. It may take a winning record for Lovullo to keep his job beyond 2023.
