Torey Lovullo Describes Diamondbacks With 3 Words

A day after his team was eliminated, the Arizona Diamondbacks' manager reflected on the good and the bad of the 2025 season.

Sep 8, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) walks to the mound during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Torey Lovullo had a brutal night Friday, watching his team be eliminated from playoff contention by the San Diego Padres.

"I was just absorbing the pain and the frustration of what was going on. And then at some point last night, getting back to the hotel and waking up this morning, I wanted to zoom out a little bit and just maybe laugh a little bit and remember the good times and understand the space that we need to get better."

Torey Lovullo Describes Diamondbacks in 3 Words

There is plenty of time and space to dissect what went right and wrong in 2025. Both the front office and the manager have a lot of work to do to get the team back to the playoffs. But Lovullo was asked to reflect back on the last 160 games and describe his team.

"They were passionate. They were engaged and relentless, despite some very tough times, some tough outcomes. And they decided amongst themselves at some point that they were going to go out and compete and expect to win baseball games and put us in this position," Lovullo said.

Indeed, despite countless tough losses, the D-backs almost always seemed to find a way to bounce back, especially over the final two months of the season.

They were 51-59 on August 1 but went 29-18 after a massive selloff of veteran soon-to-be free agents, putting themselves on the cusp of a playoff spot.

They almost pulled it off. Wednesday night's loss to the Dodgers when they had the winning run 90 feet away in the 10th inning turned out to be one blow too many however.

The team was flat in Thursday's bullpen game, and made numerous mistakes Friday that finally shut the door on their 2025 hopes.

Lovullo was conflicted in his feeling about things.

"I'm extremely proud of what we've done. I can't overlook that," said Lovullo. "But I want to live in the space, too, where we need to improve. So I'm 50-50.

"Half my thoughts go to how proud I am of this group, and then half my thoughts are to what do we have to do to push this ball downfield and do it right every single night."

Diamondbacks Saturday Lineup Notes

Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte are off today, giving way to let other players get on the field in the season's penultimate game.

"Both have been playing banged up. From me to them, through the media, and I've explained it to them as well, I just want to say thank you for what they've done. Their bodies are not 100%."

Carroll has played through a broken bone chip in his wrist since mid-season. Marte still has a sore foot and overall banged-up lower half of his body from numerous injuries this season.

"Corbin with a broken hand playing through pain that nobody else could possibly understand. Ketel playing banged up. Got hit on the foot and came back."

One player who is not taking the day off is Geraldo Perdomo. Lovullo gave him the choice, but Perdomo is chasing some personal milestones, including 100 RBI and 20 home runs.

Lovullo said if left up to him, he would have sat the shortstop, but given the choice, Perdomo indicated a strong preference to be out on the field.

Perdomo told the manager, "I want to play. Put me in the lineup. I want to play. It's my responsibility to be the leader of this team. I want to set a standard. Put me in the lineup."

Jordan Lawlar is not in the lineup Saturday either, but will start Sunday. Lovullo explained that decision.

"I just feel like there's going to be a lot of activity at third base today with a lefty pitching, changeup, cut fastball, and I want to put our best defender there.

"Jordan is improving defensively. He's working his butt off, but he's going to start tomorrow. I explained that to him, and I just felt like I wanted to put the best defensive infield on the field today," Lovullo said.