Torey Lovullo Explains Diamondbacks' Surprise Pitching Change

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be shaking up their rotation somewhat.

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

The Arizona Diamondbacks are shaking up their rotation for the remainder of the 2025 season, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters on Wednesday.

Arizona will be going to a four-man rotation consisting of Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt. Nabil Crismatt, who has pitched extremely well as the emergency fifth starter, will pitch out of the bullpen.

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Lovullo explained the decision in detail.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo Explains Rotation Change

The skipper was emphatic that the decision had nothing to do with the quality of Crismatt's efforts. The right-hander has thrown to a 2.70 ERA over 30 innings.

"Nothing against Crismatt. He's been throwing the ball extremely well," Lovullo said. "We felt like there would be some value to get some, get some length, dependable length out of the bullpen.

"The four guys have been leading the charge for us all year long. Some have been throwing the ball exceptionally well, and we wanted to match up the best way we could against the most critical teams, the most critical times.

"We spent some time on it. I know I was asked a question a couple of days ago, how do we know what our rotation is going to look like? And this is something we've been talking about for seven or eight days. So we knew this was a possibility."

The D-backs will get off days on Thursday, September 17 and Monday, September 22. That allows a four-man rotation to get the required rest, while allowing Crismatt to serve as a valuable asset in long relief.

"We had a chance to realign it based on the off days. But it's a four-man rotation. They're still going to get five days [rest]. Some are going to get... an extra day and pitch on a sixth day. So we felt like this was the right thing to do.

"If you break it down, you'll see that there's strategy to how it happened, why it happened, who's pitching it to the most critical teams," Lovullo said.

It will be up to the established arms in the rotation to perform. Gallen has seen a major turnaround post-Deadline, as has Rodriguez — though he suffered a poor outing on Tuesday.

Ryne Nelson continues to be one of the most reliable and effective arms in the rotation, while Pfaadt has had an extremely up-and-down season.

With Arizona now inching closer and closer to an improbable playoff run, the rotation will look different — like a playoff rotation.