Insider Says D-backs Manager Torey Lovullo May Be On Hot Seat

Some things are very predictable in major league baseball. For example, when a team (like the Arizona Diamondbacks) underperforms expectations, fans call for the manager's job. That reaction often goes unreciprocated by those making such decisions.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo — though he was given a vote of confidence and retained after a disappointing 2025 season — may not have much more leash than what he's already been given.

In a recent article, The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro said he believes Lovullo is on the hot seat. Piecoro called Lovullo's footing "perhaps the wobbliest it's ever been."

Related Content: How Do D-backs Players Feel About Torey Lovullo?

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo's Seat Warming

Dec 9, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manage Torey Lovullo speaks with the media during the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings at Signia by Hilton Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

“I can’t disagree with how [Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick and team President Derrick Hall] handled things,” Lovullo told Piecoro. “We lost 110 games (in 2021), and I probably should have been fired and wasn’t.

"We haven’t made the playoffs in two years and there was talk of me being dismissed, and I wasn’t. I kind of feel like I deserve to be in the position I’m in — and I have a lot to prove this year," Lovullo said.

There's certainly pressure on Lovullo to perform this upcoming season, though that may remain difficult considering the state of Arizona's roster — at least, for the first half of the season. A third straight letdown of a season could very well end up tipping the scales against the D-backs' 10-season skipper.

Lovullo told Piecoro he isn't dwelling on that pressure, and is instead focused on ensuring Arizona is more "fundamentally sound" exiting spring training.

“If I worry about the things I can’t control, worry about the pressures that are externally on me, I’m wasting my time and I’m not going to be present for the players,” he said. “That’s all I care about is being present for the players and doing right by everybody that’s inside of that building every single day.”

“Control the controllable things; that’s been my conclusion,” he said. “I don’t feel any more or less urgency."

Whether or not Lovullo should be let go in the event of another missed postseason is up for debate. Players and executives alike have sung his praise relatively consistently. Much of any MLB manager's job lies hidden — deep within the margins of the outcomes fans use to judge their performance.

The D-backs' bullpen is in a state of question. Their lineup is top-heavy. And as 2025 showed, even the biggest on-paper locks to make the postseason can run into an avalanche of adversity, out of the hands of the one making calls to the bullpen.

But at the same time, a results-based business does not look favorably on poor results for long. Lovullo's seat, though perhaps not boiling yet, will certainly not remain comfortable if Arizona underperforms.