D-backs' Torey Lovullo Explains Sending Down Young Pitcher

The Arizona Diamondbacks' manager addressed the team's recent roster decision.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo watches his team play against the Royals during a game in Phoenix, at Chase Field on July 5, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a roster move, sending right-hander Andrew Hoffmann down to Triple-A Reno and calling up right-hander Bryce Jarvis.

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Hoffmann, 25, had been working through some growing pains in his first major league season, struggling through some of his recent outings.

On Saturday, Hoffmann was charged for four earned runs in a loss to the Rockies. Tuesday, he gave up two hits and a walk in a win over the Cleveland Guardians.

On Wednesday, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters what he's hoping Hoffmann can work through in the minor leagues.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Explains Roster Move

Hoffmann has good stuff, but has struggled a bit with location consistency. That is what Lovullo is hoping improves in Triple-A.

"Maybe a little bit of consistency with balls on the plate. Forcing fastballs down and away I think would be a real nice play for him," Lovullo said.'

Hoffmann has an excellent fastball-changeup combo, but tends to rely entirely on that pairing. Lovullo said he'd like to see the righty work on his third pitch — a slider.

"The usage of the slider, I think he got a little predictable with his change split. It's an elite pitch. You can't totally rely on that. You've got to be able to, strike it, strike-to-ball it, and then reset with different pitches. So I think it's more of sequencing."

The wear and tear of a marathon season is tough on anyone, especially a young arm like Hoffmann. It can be an emotional journey when delivering less-than-deal results.

"Just give him a little blow emotionally was a big [reason] as well. He's been going at it pretty hard for the past couple years. It's been year-round for him with winter ball, and might be getting a little fatigued.

"First time pitching this deep into a season, the September-ish. I know we're not there yet, but the extra month of baseball takes its toll on a young player for that first time getting called up to the big leagues."

"We just want to give him a little bit of a blow, reset, and establish some other pitches that we know that he can throw. It should be a very, very good transition for him, and he should be able to figure this out quickly," Lovullo said.

Lovullo said Jarvis would be coming up to fill a relief role, though the team is hoping to keep him as stretched out as possible. They may decide to shorten him up, however.

"It's nice to know you have that in your back pocket, where somebody could step in and throw the fifth to the ninth inning. So that's how we're going to give him the most opportunities right now.

"But at some point, if we need to shorten him up, we've got two long men in the bullpen, that's a little complicated. We might shorten one of them up.We haven't determined who that might be, though," Lovullo said.

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Gold Glove catcher Gabriel Moreno is nearing a return. He went 3-for-5 in Tuesday night's Reno Aces game, throwing out a runner and catching all nine innings.

Lovullo said Moreno will play a back-to-back Wednesday. Moreno's return is not far off.

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Right-hander Ryan Thompson threw to live hitters on Tuesday. Lovullo said the team is still deciding if Thompson's next outing will be against live hitters at Chase Field Friday, or in a bridge game at Salt River Fields on Saturday.